Maple and Cherry Blossom
by skrom
Summary: Bishounen story about polar opposites creating an unlikely friendship.
1. Chapter 1

At the beginning of May, Hanamichi and him found themselves staring at Ayako like she was speaking an alien language. "Uhm, say that again?" Hanamichi said, blinking like an ignorant baby.

Ayako cleared her throat, and in a louder voice exclaimed, "As the new captain of the team, Riyota has deemed it wise to give careful attention to the academic progress of the team members. The team management—consisting of me, Riyota, Anzai-sensei and former captain Akagi, has taken it upon themselves to arrange tutors for the team members with the lowest marks. Tha-"

"WHAT?! That's hogwash!" Hanamichi received a big slap on the head from Ayako's fan. "As I was saying," she continued, "That includes you two. We have carefully matched you with the appropriate tutors to help you in your weakest subjects. You will spend an hour with them everyday, and if they are satisfied with your progress they will escort you to practice. Without them, you shall not be allowed in the gym, and you shall not be allowed to play ball."

"Ayako-chan! I was part of the power five, you cannot do this!" Hanamichi argued and WHACK, another big slap on the head courtesy of Ayako's giant fan. "Anzai-sensei has approved of this. It is time the team raises its standards and helps its members excel academically."

Kaede gave a long grunt of disapproval. When Ayako noticed this, she turned to him and gave him a sweet smile, but murder was in her eyes, "You will go to your tutorial sessions, whether you like it or not." Kaede didn't want to admit it, but a chill ran up his spine and he noticed Hanamichi's face had turned all white. She shoved a piece of paper on to their chests: it contained the name and chosen place of study of their tutors.

They began to stalk away from her in obedience. And giddily, like a typical school girl, Ayako giggled and skipped on her spot. "Run along boys, and have fuuun!" She said in a sing-song voice. _Evil woman, _Kaede thought.

Hanamichi headed down to the clubs hall and Kaede turned towards the library. _Clever, the fan girls wouldn't be allowed in here. _He cracked open the door of Conference Room 1 and beheld his tutor poring over his old tests. Long jet black hair fell neatly over her shoulders. Her gray eyes, slightly hidden by her bangs, were intense and focused on the pieces of paper in front of her and she was chewing on her lip.

Ishihara Sakura. Section 1, Junior Class Council President and ranks second in the whole year. He'd seen her around. She was always found in key spots during school events, leading, organizing, doing stuff he could not care less about. She was in the student council last year and she spoke in the opening ceremony this year. At that time, Kaede thought she had been a refreshing sight in the ceremony. Her enthusiasm and her appearance had been a nice change from the long speeches of old faculty and staff members, and the nervous nerdy talks of other class leaders. But today, she's just a hindrance.

When she finally noticed him, she stood and gave him formal greetings. "Hello, Rukawa-kun. Miyagi-sempai has given me the task of tutoring you. I hope for your complete cooperation in these sessions." She said, speaking like a diplomat and handing him a business card. He took the card from her hand and slipped it in his pocket, saying nothing as he took his seat. He hoped to hasten the session so he can play ball. His rudeness earned him a _hmf _from her, but she said nothing and took her seat.

She began talking about where he made mistakes in his previous tests and which lessons she thinks they should focus on in their study. Kaede listened with disinterest. "You are weakest in Math, and I think that's why Miyagi-sempai asked me, is because I do well in it."

_That bastard, _Kaede thought.

"Okay, so, I fear we'll have to begin with the basics of Algebra again." She clapped her hands, "Do you recall anything from those lessons?" Kaede did not respond. She was talking to him as if he was a child. These Section 1 kids are so condescending.

Sakura pretended like he wasn't ignoring her and kept on with her enthusiasm. "So, we begin with polynomials." She writes the word on a pad of paper. "A polynomial is a mathematical expression consisting of a sum of terms, each term including a variable or variables raised to a power and multiplied by a coefficient." She paused to write down examples of them and began to circle each, "But what are terms and variables?" When she turned to check if he was following; she found him asleep with his head on the desk.

Sakura paused to breathe deeply, and began to tap his shoulder. Kaede awoke and sat up straight again. She smiled, pleased. "As I was saying, what are terms and variables? Well first, a term is either a single number or variable or numbers and variables multiplied together." She finished writing it down on her pad and glanced to look at him and found him asleep again with his head leaning back over his chair.

Sakura huffed and reached over to shake his shoulders and Kaede awoke and straightened up again. "Pay attention." She warned with a stern small frown. "So, did you get that? A term can be a single number but it can also be a variable or numbers and variables that are multiplied together. So now we come to what variables are. Variables are-" Kaede's head met the table with a thud. He had fallen asleep again.

Sakura began seething. She is not a very patient person and that was the last straw. She was desperate to get him to listen. For Pete's sake, she's doing this voluntarily, to leave no student behind. She grabbed her tin pencil case and shook it around. It made a loud rattling noise that echoed in the Conference Room and Kaede awoke instantly, as expected. She smiled victoriously but what she did not expect was him grabbing on to her wrist that held the case and glaring straight into her eyes with anger and annoyance in his face, "What is your problem?" He asks. It was the first thing he's said since he entered the room.

Sakura recovered from her shock, and glared back at him. "My problem is you are not listening. I am doing this voluntarily to help you but I can't if you don't cooperate with me." She barked.

Kaede flicked her hand away, "I don't need your help." He said with derision and moved to pick up his bags, and walked out without another word.

He had gone straight to the gym but found all the doors locked. A sign was posted on each door, which said, "No escort, no entry."

_Baka. _Kaede cursed. It hurt his pride to go back, but he had to. It was a requirement to play and he'd sacrifice even his pride to be with his number one love: basketball.

When he returned, she was still there. He took his seat and she turned to give him a small, sassy smile, "Ready to listen?"

He managed to groggily listen to that first day lesson, though he doubts he would ever retain anything. When the one-hour session ended, she packed up her things and called a "See you tomorrow" and began to leave. Kaede felt cheated, he grabbed on to her arm before she could leave and it was the first time he'd noticed that she was taller than most girls seeing as he did not look down so low. Gruffly, he said, "Aren't you supposed to take me to the gym?"

Sakura turned and feigned ignorance, "Supposed to? The agreement was, I will escort you to practice if I was satisfied with your performance and I am not. So Rukawa-kun, it looks like you will not be practicing with the team today." She said with a smug grin, flashing pearly white teeth. Kaede's teeth, on the other hand, faced a lot of gritting for the rest of the day.

_Do'ahou. _


	2. Chapter 2

Kaede endured an hour of tutorial sessions for the next two days. He said nothing, did nothing and responded to nothing. He just tried to stay awake to have her satisfied so he can be escorted to the gym. The past three days were testament to his failing strategy: she was not pleased and she did not escort him.

It's stupid, he felt like a kindergartener that needs to be taken to school and these sessions are a complete waste of time. But Riyota, Gori and Ayako had been very firm in the decision and he could find no way to circumvent their new system. Kaede realized he needed to approach this differently and it had to be on the other side of the spectrum: he had to come up with something to coerce Sakura to escort him. Yelling and force wouldn't do it, he's tried that on the second day and she was stubborn as a mule. Perhaps if he did the opposite?

She had been in the middle of talking about the basic number properties of Math when Kaede gulped and finally moved his chair closer to her and scooted over. She took notice of this and waited for him to be comfortable before continuing. His arm rested on the back of her chair and leaned closer to her to get a good look at the equations she wrote down.

"Associative property always has parentheses. And, as you can see, the numbers in commutative property are all the same, just arranged differently." Sakura said. She looked pleased when she saw that Kaede was really paying attention, he's been staring at the page for a good few minutes now and she could see the muscles in his jaw twitch and tighten. It dawned on her that he was really close when she noticed the small stubble of teenage facial hair on his jaw and the way he smelled of sandalwood.

A bright pink tinge crept up to her cheeks and she quickly turned away.

Kaede cleared his throat and shoved the pad slightly away from him, "I'm not really interested in these numbers." Perplexed, she turned to him. Confused gray met intense blue, and for a moment she trembled at the fire in his eyes. "I'm only interested in yours."

It took a while for her to process what he was saying. She avoided his gaze and huffed, "It's in the card I gave you. But you may only use it on strictly business matters."

Kaede smacked his head, "Oh right. How obtuse of me!" He looked at her and smiled, "But you are really being acute-y." His eyes were so intense that for a moment a warmth went through her and then she snapped out of it, "All right, stop it with the lame Math lines. What are you doing?" She twisted her upper body to face him straight.

"Look, you don't have to do this to catch my attention." Kaede spoke calmly, the smile was still on his face. "Escort me to the gym, Ishihara-san. Do this for me, and maybe I could do something for you." His face looked really smug and Sakura was left confused at what he was up to. A "Huh?" was all she could muster.

"You're good in Math, right?" He strokes her arm, "Maybe one plus one could be two and then we can add a bed, subtract clothes and you and I can—"

SLAP!

"Do not liken me to your posse of bimbos, you giant asshole!" She seethed, her entire body trembled with anger. She moved too quickly, in grabbing her stuff and walking out before Kaede could even recover from the shock of the slap. When he came to, he rubbed his cheek and cursed under his breath.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Meanwhile at the gym, Ayako kept checking her watch. _End of the session and he's still not here for the fourth time. _

Riyota and Akagi were standing by the water fountain with the newly arrived, Hanamichi, when she approached them. "For the fourth time, no Rukawa again today. I'm getting worried."

"The fourth time, he's probably just sleeping through it all! Or just too _baka _to get it! NYAHAHA!" Hanamichi laughed as if it was something so amusing.

Riyota cocked an eyebrow, "Well, if I recall correctly, you've only just gotten in here today because you were too _baka _to get it yesterday and the day before that."

Hanamichi erupted in a string of silly antics at the remark which went completely ignored by the trio. "What are you worried about?" Akagi asked and she checked her watch again, "Well, that we might have stuck him with someone with too high standards."

Riyota scratched his chin, he had decided to grow a scruff for his senior year. "She does have a reputation for being such a perfectionist."

Like a mother, Ayako's brow furrowed in concern, "Yesterday, I overheard some juniors talk about the way she has awesome leadership skills but that she makes them work too hard. She doesn't stoop for anything less. I'm worried that Rukawa and her might not mesh well."

Akagi crossed his arms and turned to look at the practicing team, "No. Give it time. She will be good for him. He needs to be pushed or pulled up and she is exactly the person for the job."

-o-o-o-o-o-

"What do you mean you walked out?!" Riyota screamed and a few students in the hall turned to look. Like parents in a parent-teacher meeting, He and Ayako had sought Sakura out from her classroom to ask for updates on Rukawa's progress. She bluntly told them she'd walked out and that she wasn't teaching him anymore.

"Why? Didn't you say, when you agreed to do this, that you were excited at the prospect of helping someone get better in school?" Riyota said. Sakura breathed, "I did. But Rukawa-kun had insulted me and-"

"WHAT DID HE SAY?!" Sakura stared at the deep line on Riyota's forehead as he seethed and gritted his teeth. "He said some nasty things..." She said in a whisper. It was rather embarrassing to repeat what happened out loud.

"It's Rukawa. Nasty words are his nature." Ayako patted Sakura's shoulder and laughed nervously. "Is it? The things he said...there were some very inappropriate implications that I really did not appreciate." Sakura whispered even softer than before.

Ayako and Riyota looked both in shock and confused at the same time. "You...you don't mean...you don't mean he..."

Sakura only blushed. It was too embarrassing to speak of it. It was a good thing Ayako got the hint, "That jerk! Saying inappropriate things to a lady!"

Sakura straightened up and composed herself, "Anyway, Miyagi-sempai, I did say I wanted to help Rukawa-kun raise his grades. But he doesn't listen, he doesn't even try, he does nothing. I can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped and who wouldn't help themselves. Ja ne, I'll see you both around." She turned to walk back in her classroom.

Just like parents, Riyota and Ayako headed down to Junior class, Section 10 next to speak with their "child". He came out groggily but Ayako was quick to push his tall form against the wall—for a girl of five feet, four inches, she was strong...and scary—"What did you say to her?!" That was enough to wake him from his sleepy state.

Kaede pushed her arm away and angrily spoke, "Nothing. I just offered her something I thought she would fall for." He turned away to look at nothing down the hall. He'd been feeling very bad about disrespecting her.

Ayako gasped, "It's worse than I thought." Riyota cocked his eyebrow, "Is it something completely inappropriate between tutor and tutee?" he inquired, and Kaede couldn't tell if he was genuinely concerned or if he was just a curious, fantasizing perv. Sure enough, Ayako nudged him on the rib and whispered that he didn't need the details, and he retorted that she was the first one to ask.

"Well," Riyota cleared his throat, "We are not changing our policy, and she's the only one good in Math who can actually teach you rather than ogle you so you better apologize to her."

Kaede thought about it for a second and realized that would be too much for his ego. There was no way he was humbling himself down for offending some girl, "No, I won't." He stated without looking at them.

"No basketball for you then." Riyota smirked and Kaede frowned and glared at him, "We have a game on Sunday."

"Well, apologize to her. Until then, you will not be welcomed into the team." He walked away with his girlfriend with an annoying, proud, victorious smirk on his face. Oh, how Kaede wanted to punch him.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Before bed that night, Kaede found the business card she'd given him. It was designed like graphing paper—a grid of green lines, her title of Class President under her name, her home address, phone number, email address, and a panda sticker was stuck on the upper right hand corner. Kaede stared at it as he lay in bed. _The stupid policy will not change. The girl is my only choice. Do I apologize? Should I apologize? Could I apologize?_

_..._He groaned and threw the card on his side table, resigning to a greater love for basketball than his own pride.

-o-o-o-o-o-

It was a Saturday the next day. Normally, he spent it playing basketball at the court behind his apartment building. But today, he found himself standing in front of the Ishihara residence. It was an average Japanese home, though it was smaller than the house he grew up in. Brick pillars flanked an iron gate and there wasn't much of a front yard, but it was made pretty with a blooming Cherry tree in front and Tulips lined the path to the entrance.

He spun the basketball in his hand several times, before he was finally able to talk himself into just ringing the doorbell. Sakura opened the door a few moments later. He realized just how weird it was to have come to her home. Coming here gave him details about her that was too intimate for mere acquaintances to know—that she clips her bangs up and wears her hair in a messy braid at home, that she has panda slippers and wears reading glasses, that she likes to doodle mathematical equations on her leg with colored pens, and that her collarbones look really nice...and that she owned a thin yellow shirt, and wears a black bra under said shirt. Kaede tried to focus on her face upon noticing this. It would do no good to his apology if she still thinks him a voyeur.

"Ishihara-san," It was the first time he'd properly addressed her. Sakura went back inside to slip on some shoes then she closed the door behind her and approached the gate, though she did not open it or welcome him in. She just looked at him with her arms crossed over her chest, waiting for him to speak.

Kaede bowed slightly, "I offended you the other day..." He struggled to get the words out of his mouth, "I want to apologize." _Finally. _"It was disrespectful and...shit. Full of shit." _It was the first time he'd done or said anything like that...it was the first time he'd been around a teenage girl for very long and he wasn't sure how to approach the situation...He'd seen it on TV. It was a desperate move to get what you want. But that doesn't excuse the douchebaggery. _"It will not happen again and I hope that you would still tutor me." It was a lame apology, but he kept his head low, like a respectful Japanese person, hoping that she would not doubt its sincerity. This had been the first time in a long time that he'd thought about properly adhering to Japanese customs.

Sakura said nothing and he feared the possibility of her making him try harder to win her back. But then he heard the creak of the gate and when he looked up she took the basketball from his hand, "Then, let's go." She smiled and started walking towards the park.

_That's it?_

"Where are you going?" he called after her. "To tutor you, of course!" Kaede had no clue what she was up to, but he followed suit. He watched her walking ahead of him, bouncing the ball on the pavement and glancing back occasionally to smile at him. She pointed to the caged outdoor basketball court by the beach, "Great, there's nobody here."

For a few hours that afternoon, she used basketball to illustrate geometry and trigonometry to him: triangles, angles, the Pythagorean Theorem. Every time he answered her questions correctly, he made a shot. He found himself learning, retaining the lessons easily. After two hours, with the sun setting, she stopped talking and Kaede was mumbling to himself, moving around the court as he tried to recall the lesson.

"Hypotenuse, line that connects the two ends of a right angle." He said and made a shot from the three-point line. It went in. Sakura clapped before receiving the ball that bounced towards her. She made a perfect one-hand shot from between the three-point and two-point lines and scored.

Kaede looked at her with surprise, curiosity and confusion. She smirked, "I know other things besides, Math, Rukawa-kun."


	3. Chapter 3

In the next weeks, Kaede became more engaged in their sessions. Granted, he barely spoke still, but he would try to listen. And most of the time, he just looked like he was trying to stay awake. He's fallen asleep a few times, and Sakura would wake him but he'd get so irate and difficult she thought she needed a new approach. She decided she would just wait for him to wake and when he does, they'd resume the timer from the moment he fell asleep.

So she employed her new plan. He woke up at 6:30 pm, a good two and a half hours after he fell asleep and she was still there filing her nails,"Great, you're awake. Shall we resume?" There was 47 minutes left for the session. By the time they finished, she escorted him and the basketball team was already gone. "Oops, practice is over. Guess you'll just have to stay awake next time so as to not make unnecessary extensions." She flipped her hair and walked away.

Man, did Kaede hate her guts but he soon realized that if he cooperates, she's pleased; if he's difficult, she becomes a real bitch and neither of them would get their way. Her moods and attitudes are contingent on his actions. And with her being tough as a rock, she'll never yield no matter how many times they played Round-Robin. It was all up to him to take responsibility so that events unfolded in the way he wanted and needed them to be.

So, Kaede forced himself to stay awake from then on and that's when she began to see real progress with him. Later, he discovered Sakura is actually not difficult to please contrary to what others say about her. So long as he tries, even just a little, so long as she sees effort on his part and meets her halfway, she's satisfied. So he has been able to return to practice again the past couple of weeks.

They study four subjects. Kaede's responses differ for each. He listened more attentively with Science. When she quizzed him, he'd get processes right but paid no attention to the scientific words. They were discussing digestion once and he said, "When the food goes in the mouth, some chemical breaks down the sugars. There are different kinds of sugars, there are big ones and smaller ones...the further down the food goes, the more it breaks."

She gave him a weak smile in response, glad that he at least learned something, "Um...right, right. Good job. Just try to remember the terms: there's glucose, sucrose, galactose, then starch."

They study English only for a little bit. She would avoid it if she could, and actually tries not to dwell on it too much since she's not even very good herself and doesn't want to teach him the wrong things. He seems to be doing fine anyway, since his grades are about the same as hers (Kaede got a 90 in the last English test and she got an 87).

She also teaches him some History and finds he already knows quite well certain parts of it, though he does not know specific dates. He just says, "Some time in the 17th century..." or "In the days of knights and princesses..." _Well at least, he has a general idea of when events happened., _Sakura would tell herself. It is only with his efforts and progress that she is able to maintain her patience and optimism.

It is Math that is his ultimate struggle. When it comes to Math, Kaede just acts like a stubborn and picky child who doesn't want to eat his vegetables. There is clear disdain in his eyes when they get to discussing numbers and equations, a coldness that doesn't mirror her excitement. At times, he actually would try to answer the questions, and at times he would pore over the equations to try and understand them.

She's learned to read his facial expressions. He's always frowning, but if his frown gets deeper, and his lips are pressed together, it means he's confused. Kaede does not talk much, so she answers or repeats herself knowing he would not ask or say anything anyway. If he's frowning and looking away, it means he's frustrated, so she cheers him up and encourages him. When he clicks his tongue, it means he's angry and is giving up and he becomes extremely difficult to deal with at this point.

"Why would you multiply it with a negative sign?!" He asked one day after discussing further algebraic equations. He was clearly irate, fuming and frustrated, he spoke louder than he normally would when he did speak.  
"Because, the answer is a negative."  
"So where would the negative come from? Did you get it from here?!" He pointed to the equation.  
"No! You don't get it from there." Sakura was becoming impatient as well. She doesn't get yelled at often by anyone, and when it does happen, she does not respond well.  
"Then where do you get it from?!"  
"You...what? You get it from nowhere, you just put it there!"  
"What the heck? Why?!"  
"Because...because it's a negative, you have to make it positive so you multiply it with a negative!"  
"That doesn't make any sense..." Kaede paused to look at the equation again, then he clicked his tongue, "So if I get a negative, I just add a sign that wasn't there in the first place to get the answer I want?"  
"You don't just put it there, it's the rule."  
"I can make something up on this end, but not on others? I thought Math was supposed to be objective?!"  
"It is!"  
"Well this doesn't make any sense!"  
"It's the rule, you just do it!"  
"Well, then the rule is stupid!"

Sakura has been learning slowly how to deal with all of Kaede's moods. She tried making basketball metaphors, she'd draw, she'd apply it to real life problems. She finds that sometimes, he over-thinks things, often asking about the rationale behind every equation and formula, which of course, she does not have answers to. It's just the rule. Whenever she gives him that answer, they banter for a long time involving lots of yelling and table-slamming and sassy remarks. Eventually, they'd calm down and she'd divert the lesson to something else—something he's better at—History, English, Science.

"Just remember to study so you can master it and retain it in your memory, you will need it for your exams in the next week." she would say after dropping him off at practice everyday. He would grunt in response. Studying is not a priority for him. Basketball is. He's accepted the one-hour study session with her everyday as a requirement to play—he'd do anything for his number one love, but nothing else has changed in his routine: Basketball, eat, sleep, eat, sleep, study, basketball, eat sleep. He did not care about class and slept through all of it, at lunch, he ate a bit and slept. When he gained enough energy to wake and move about, he played basketball.

-o-o-o-o-o-

On Friday, after exam week, Kaede marched to the library with an air of rage. When she saw him, she smiled brightly, "How did your exams go?"

It was mockery. To him, it felt like she was mocking him. He slammed the conference door behind him and dumped the pile of papers on the desk then exclaimed in a cold, icy tone, "You tell me." He sank on to his seat with arms crossed as he watched her look over his tests . She found that besides English, he'd failed everything else.

With her brows furrowed and her lips pressed together, she reviewed each item, looking for where he made the mistake. She'd muster a "hmm..." every so often, but it frustrated him more.

"You were supposed to get me better and have me pass! How did this happen? Riyota just extended the session from an hour to two now!" Kaede said angrily, slamming his fist on the table.  
"You're blaming me? I did all I could for you!" She snapped back.  
"Well not enough, you were teaching me the wrong things!"  
"What? I wasn't! Look, look here," She pointed to his Science test, "You put sugar, when you were asked to specify which one, you were supposed to write starch, the largest sugar, but you didn't!"  
"It's still sugar!"  
"I told you to study and memorize the terms and you didn't! How dare you tell me it's my fault when it was your own!"  
"Because you were teaching me the wrong things! Look here," He flipped through his Math test, "The answer is a negative, so I multiplied it with a negative to make a positive, as you said, and I'm still marked wrong!"  
"Because that question does not require you to have a positive answer!"  
"What? That doesn't make any sense!" Kaede huffed. "How am I supposed to know which ones require a negative answer and a positive one?"  
"You just look at the problem. Look at what's asked. I told you that!"  
"That is stupid. And you are terrible." Kaede growled.  
"Why is it me? When you are the terrible one! I told you to study, and you didn't. You only study with English. How is it that you can study with English but not the others?!"

Silence. Kaede looked away, angering Sakura a little bit more, "Well?!"

His response was soft, almost a whisper, "My parents speak English." It was the first time Kaede has said anything about him. Besides his academic standing and athleticism, she knew nothing about his personal life, his family. He was very quiet and cautious about it and she could see that it strained him to say these things now. She calmed down and there was silence between them now.

Sakura kept herself occupied by looking through the rest of his tests. He did quite well in history, but not knowing specific dates dragged him down. "You did well in history..." She whispered, as a way to break the ice. She hoped a compliment would encourage and cheer him up.

Kaede was still staring at the wall. She waited for a response from him and when it didn't come, she continued looking through his tests and then he spoke, "I can hear him."  
"Huh? Hear who?"  
"Miyazaki-sensei, my history teacher."

Sakura wasn't sure what he was getting at so she just waited for him to speak.

"Even when I sleep, I can hear his lectures...Math and Science, they write on the board so much, I don't get to see it and don't know what it's about..."

_He is an audio learner, _Sakura realized. "Might I ask...I hope you don't mind. But why do you sleep so much?"

Kaede turned to her, his face didn't convey any emotion, but seriousness. He spoke in a low voice, "Because I stay up playing basketball...if I don't get to practice, I stay up even later."

A pang of guilt hit her that moment, though at the same time, she was still baffled at how he can prioritize basketball over anything else.

That day, she decided to be gentle with him. They went through his tests and she told him where he went wrong. Kaede had calmed down. He watched her explain, he looked like he was listening but he wasn't saying anything so she could not tell. At the end of the day, out of compassion and in the hopes that it would ease the tension between them in their student-tutor relationship, she escorted him to the gym.

"I'll see you, Monday." she said before he wordlessly walked in the gym. She stood there after he closed the door behind him and listened to the sound of squeaking basketball shoes and dribbling balls. _What is it about basketball that he loves so much? _

Sakura noticed a schedule of events posted on the gym door. She read through it and decided her weekend was going to be full.


	4. Chapter 4

On the gate was a sign that read Ouran High, and in the distance she could hear a seemingly large crowd cheering along with the beat of drums. She came alone, and it was daunting. Some Ouran students stopped to stare at her as she headed towards the source of the sound: the gym, where a game between Ouran and Shohoku was about to take place. Sakura hid her face under her baseball cap, feeling conscious under their gaze but she willed herself not to care, though she wished she brought a friend. She did consider calling and inviting Chisa, but she wasn't into basketball. None of the few friends she had were into basketball. They were either obsessed with school, their academic clubs or their dates. So she decided to come alone not wanting to burden anybody.

When she entered the gym, she found a very lively crowd, carrying banners of orange and banging empty plastic bottles against each other. On the other side of the gym, she saw a few Shohoku students, Akagi Haruko and her friends, Rukawa's posse of fans, crying his name out loud, and a few more. It was strange—last year, she remembered the entire high school getting all riled up about the team getting into the finals that even her friends got into the hype. They tried to get her to go but she had other things she had to take care of. Now, there are only a few supporting the team. _I guess they only care if it's the finals._

She took her seat on the upper bowl. Far from any Shohoku students, around Ouran High couples who were keeping isolated in the back, probably using the game as an excuse to date and hang out. It was a little awkward at first, but once the game started, she could not care less about them.

The first quarter was uneventful besides a few points here and there from both sides. There wasn't much happening. Shohoku decided to have the new members play first and the game ran at a slow pace. Kaede sat still on the bench until the middle of the second quarter and he, Hanamichi and Riyota went in.

"They were part of the first five," she overheard an Ouran student say. She'd always known Kaede was part of Shohoku's first five. It's one of the first few things the students at school say about him. It sounds very impressive, but then they also say he's in the last section, sleeping and snoring all the time, with a distasteful, impatient and ugly attitude. Sakura took a quick glance at the Rukawa Fans Club off to her right and wondered what spell did he cast on these women?

The whistle blew, and the game carried on. When the ball came to Kaede, she saw him move like greased lightning, swerving from Ouran's defense, making shot after shot after shot. The fan girls would squeal and chant their only cheer, "L-O-V-E RU-KA-WA!"

Sakura felt her breath caught in her throat. He was fast. Not just his physical speed and agility, but he had the quick wit to overcome the opponents' strategies. It was actually, really quite sensational.

In the third quarter a foul was called when an Ouran player tried to snatch the ball from Kaede. The Ouran students close to her were yelling that he'd done it on purpose, that he'd placed his arm forward so he'd get a foul. The referee called for one free-throw shot from Shohoku, and Kaede walked up to the free-throw line. He wiped his sweat and dribbled the ball a few times before prepping for the throw.

"His foot is on the line," an Ouran student said. "Haha, idiot. It will not count if his foot is on the line." The Ouran students laughed, "They call him Super Rookie because he is super new and stupid at this game." They laughed even more and she could see the referee was staring at his foot, getting ready to blow the whistle.

Sakura wanted to shout and warn him of his foot. But before she even could (not that she would have), Kaede made the shot, popping his leg up so his foot touched no line—and score! The lead was now 33 points.

_Clever, son of a gun. _He knew his foot had been there all along.

The Ouran students went silent and it was all Sakura could do not to laugh at _their_ idiocy. _He's called Super Rookie because he is spectacular at the game. _Sakura can see that now. _He was in the All-Japan basketball team last year for a reason—and only as a freshman. _He _is_ good, perhaps even a basketball prodigy. He had a gracefulness on the court that she didn't realize athletes could possess. He was like a jaguar, strong, fast and graceful—like poetry in motion. There was something captivating about it...

There was an intensity in Kaede's blue eyes when he went for a dunk just right before the end of the third quarter. When Akagi, who was acting Assistant Coach, called him back on the bench to let the new members play again for the last quarter, she saw him smirk—an amusement that reached his eyes. Sakura thought she'd found what she came here for. The reason behind his love for basketball was just that—love and freedom. _This is just where he belongs. _


	5. Chapter 5

The next few weeks, she was gentler with him. She used plenty of basketball metaphors. She related everything to basketball. Much as he didn't want to admit it, he appreciated her efforts as it did help him understand and retain the information. But she was really sounding more and more like a coach with all her basketball references.

Kaede has resolved to pass since the last exam. Riyota has made it very clear that he had to show improvement because if he didn't, he would not be playing in the semifinals and the finals—that is, if they get that far. Kaede knows Ryonan would be there, so he can not not play. This year was his last chance to settle his rivalry with Ryonan's Sendoh. That bastard Riyota knew exactly how to get him motivated.

Kaede listened to Sakura intently as she tried to explain geometry to him—how basketball also involves plenty of geometry, "When passing the ball to your teammate, you need to understand the right angle to bounce the ball so that it gets to your teammate and not anywhere else, right?" She paused to grab her pad of paper, "So for instance," she began to draw, "You are standing here and you're bouncing the ball off to Sakuragi-kun over here, you'd have to bounce the ball like this right so that it gets to him. That is an obtuse angle. Here measures more than ninety degrees and here measures less than ninety degrees..."

Sakura kept talking, and for a moment his mind drifted elsewhere—back to the game last weekend.

_She was there._ He knew. He saw her sitting by herself on the bleachers after he made a dunk shot. He could not really make it out to be her with her face covered by a baseball hat, but the panda bag she carried was a dead give away. He'd noticed for the past weeks that she has a thing for pandas—panda slippers, panda stickers, panda pens, panda pencil case. He finds it a little funny and well, he'd rather not say or think about the other word that's running in his head...But really, _what was she doing there? Did she come to watch me? _He wondered then and he wonders now. For the first few minutes of the study session, he'd expected her to say something about the game, about his game, but she didn't—no congratulations or anything. _So what was her attendance about?_

_The girl is so odd and hard to read. _A part of him felt bothered by this fact, another big part of him was just intrigued, and though he didn't want to admit it, there was a disgusting part of him that felt warm and nice knowing she had gone to watch. He might have really warmed up to her since last Friday's revelation...it was truly a big step for him to speak about his family and his personal thoughts and mannerisms to anyone. Now she knows personal things about him that he can't take back...a big chunk of wall has been broken...It makes him feel exposed and vulnerable. But then again, a part of him also feels liberated having someone know.

"Ne, are you listening?" She snapped her fingers in front of his face. He realized he'd been staring into space. Kaede glanced at her face and the work that she did on the pad of paper, she's drawn quite extensively the entire team of Shohoku playing basketball in little stick figures.

"You draw terribly."

It was the beginning of calmer tutorial sessions, where instead of snide remarks that don't get them further along, they just poked fun at each other with sass and sarcasm. She soon found that besides basketball, Kaede is naturally sarcastic and he seems to enjoy the playful banter—she'd often catch him smirk and smile occasionally and that really improved their tutor-student relationship, in that they met each other half way. But it felt like they were a little more than acquaintances now.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Around the end of June, Sakura started coming late to their sessions. Kaede would sit there for five to fifteen minutes waiting for her and she'd show up panting. "I know, I'm sorry. I got caught up in a Student Council meeting."

"You are wasting my time." Kaede said icily. The timer for their sessions doesn't start until they've actually started. If she was late, it means five to fifteen additional minutes of no basketball.

"I know. I'm sorry, I couldn't get out of it. But I'll tell you what, I won't tell Miyagi-sempai if you won't." She smiled hopefully.

Kaede cocked an eyebrow, _W__hat's this? The President playing hooky?_

"So," She took her usual seat and pulled out her Biology book from her bag, "I figured, we can take advantage of your being an audio learner."

"Huh?"

"You are an audio learner, that's how you can retain Miyazaki-sensei's teachings even when you're asleep. You learn through hearing."

Kaede did not say anything in response and she carried on as usual. She had gotten used to his wordless responses.

"Here, with nerve cells. I'll sing it first then you follow?"

"What?" _singing?_

"Listen, listen," she shushed him.

"_Use your dendrites,  
Use your dendrites,  
To connect throughout your brain.  
Take in info, analyze it,  
Grow some new ones  
Unrestrained._

_Axons send out  
Neurotransmitters  
To the dendrites all around  
Across the synapse  
Jumps the impulse  
New ideas can now abound."_

Kaede stifled a laugh. "Well, what do you think? It's great isn't it? The songs will have you remember the terms easily. So come on, sing with me." She said giddily.

"No. It's stupid." He said, still stifling a laugh.  
"What? No, it isn't. It's a good learning tool. See,"

"_Stimulation  
Is what the brain needs  
To make dendrites stretch and grow.  
New connections  
Make us smarter  
In what we think and what we know."_

Kaede was still refusing to sing. So she ignored him and decided to sing it all by herself, over and over until it stuck in his brain. "You are being ridiculous, you know that?" He said, his smile suppressed behind a deadpanned face.

"I know. But if it helps you learn—and I know it will—then so be it. I'll be as stupid as I must."

_"Use your dendrites,  
Use your dendrites,  
To connect throughout your brain  
Take in info, analyze it,  
Grow some new ones  
Unrestrained."_

That evening Kaede found himself singing her stupid song while washing the dirty dishes before he went to bed. _Damn her and her catchy song!_ He laughed in submission to the thought. _Use your dendrites, use your dendrites to connect throughout your brain..._

-o-o-o-o-o-

The next days, Kaede found himself looking forward to the study sessions just so he can catch her stupid singing again. It was absolutely ridiculous, but he'd begun to find it amusing.

Unfortunately, she kept showing up late, shortening their study hours. Her Student Council was meeting every day now, stressed and worked up in preparation for the Tanabata festival in July. The Juniors were holding a Tanabata play, and opening a bunch of booths and shops, in addition to being in charge of school decorations and the Commencement Program.

It was absolutely frustrating for his part that she would be late, prioritizing her Council over their study time. But then again, was he not the same way before?

After almost forty minutes of waiting, Kaede decided to take matters into his own hands. He stalked over to the Juniors' Student Council room and barged in, uninvited. The Council members and section representatives were all there and they all stared at him in shock. Kaede spotted her hunched over a notebook with a curly-haired, four-eyed blonde dude.

"Rukawa-kun, sorry, I was..."

"You can't be in here. This is a student council meeting." The blonde said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Honda Keijiro, top student of the Junior class. He lost to Sakura in last year's elections and now he's her Vice President. Kaede at that moment thought he was a bigger douchebag than Sendoh or Kiyota.

"You have my tutor." Kaede's tall form approached the table and grabbed Sakura's arm.

Sakura blurted a string of incoherent words, which he ignored and just kept walking. Before they could step out of the room, she called out to her council to proceed with the agenda and update her later. Then she called to the blonde, "Keijiro-kun, take over for now."

She apologized profusely when they arrived at their study room. "Sheesh, you just can't wait to play ball, can you?" Kaede didn't say anything. "I'm sorry, I lost track of time." She bowed, and again he did not say anything.

"I'm sorry again, Rukawa-kun. It's just been so stressful." She sat and flipped through her History book. "We've been assigned the biggest assignment of all: the Commencement Program which must be grand. The school wants fireworks, 'July is fireworks month in Japan. We must have fireworks.'" She said in a tone mimicking someone from the board, "But they're so expensive and we don't have enough money in our budget to get them with the booths and the show. We've sent out a bunch of solicitation letters to possible donors, but they haven't responded and we are running out of time. The Tanabata is in less than a week. So I'm sorry, but the school would kill me if I don't take care of this." Sakura groaned in exhaustion. Kaede noticed that her usually neatly combed jet black hair was a mess today, and she looked pale and tired and sleepy.

Kaede sighed, "I'll get the fireworks."

She looked up at him, "Thanks, but if we don't have money for them, there will be no fireworks."

"I get that." Kaede glanced away for a second, he has never done anything for this school besides play basketball. He has never participated in school activities, or clubs or what not. He could have made a record, but that's broken today, "But I'm saying, I'll _buy _the fireworks."

Sakura took a while to process what he was saying, and when she did, her jaw dropped, "What? Are you serious?! How?" Kaede grunted and waved his hand in response, as if to say 'Don't worry about it'—all it took was a phone call to his parents and the money would be there.

Her reaction was priceless: her face breathed relief, gladness and excitement, and it brought a kind of satisfaction to him, "Wow! Wait, let me just email the others so they won't have to worry about it." She pulled out her phone, which had a little panda accessory attached to it, and pressed a few buttons.

"Don't tell them it's me." He whispered, he really didn't want the other students thinking he was getting involved now. He didn't want to bother with all that work, it will only take time away from his number one love, basketball.

Sakura nodded and sent the message. Then she closed her flip phone and looked at him. His face was turned away from hers and he was staring at the file cabinet in the corner. She smiled softly, "May I ask why you are doing this? Did you finally decide to get more involved in the Junior Class' activities?"

He glanced back at her and for a moment did not say anything, then he shot her a lopsided grin, "No. But my tutor is turning into one of those pandas she likes so much with such big dark circles around her eyes...and I'm not very fond of bears, or zombies for that matter."

***Learned the song from my former biology professor. No idea who wrote it.**


	6. Chapter 6

On the day of the festival, the Junior Student Council found boxes of fireworks in their council room. It was even more than what they needed. In her heart, Sakura whispered a big thank you to Kaede. He was like a secret Santa Claus to them all.

Classes were canceled all day as the students prepared. Sakura was busy overseeing the preparations for the Commencement Program. She had to ensure the sound system worked fine, that the music did not echo, that there wasn't too much bass. She had to make sure the decorations were done well, that they matched and were hung properly so as not to fall halfway through. Everything has to be perfect, that was how much of a control-freak she was, she micro-managed everything. Perfection gave her piece of mind.

Situated near the river, Shohoku High has been a favorite venue for the Tanabata festival celebrations in the Kanagawa district. During the day, they opened the students' booths, which were erected surrounding the quadrangle. On one end was the stage, where Sakura stood coaching the emcees for the night. In the middle of the quadrangle was a giant makeshift bamboo tree and banners and lanterns were hung on the buildings, the booths and the trees that surrounded it. On the river, where the wishes of Tanabata were usually set afloat (the water level was too low this year), there were instead some boats, where some senior students were having a "Lover's cruise" booth, which was a big hit to the couples (Later, Sakura found out this was all Riyota's plan to try to get all cheesy with Ayako-tan. She never would have suspected him to be the _romantico _type).

By late afternoon, the quadrangle already had a huge crowd with visitors from other schools, family and friends of the Shohoku students. There were plenty of things to see and do, it was like a big fair. Aside from the Lover's cruise, Junior class section 10 was having a cafe, serving treats and candy. Kaede was nowhere to be found as he had skipped it all to go play basketball at the gym.

Haruko-chan's class was doing a karaoke booth, which Hanamichi frequented—or practically lived in, as he was hogging the microphone to serenade his beloved. His feelings are no longer a secret, but Haruko is yet to return them.

"Poor guy, Haruko-chan is head over heels for Rukawa-kun." Chisa said, glancing at the direction of Hanamichi's ruckus. She and Sakura were in the dressing room, where the walls were too thin to silence the noise from outside. "She is? I don't really know her." Sakura said, as she helped Chisa get ready to host the evening's event. Chisa thought memorizing her cues was becoming difficult with the redhead's boisterous caterwauling outside. Sakura thought it was sweet of him.

"We have sewing together, and all she ever talks about is Rukawa-kun, Rukawa-kun." Chisa sighed and tucked her short brown hair behind her ear as she looked over her notes and cues again, "For some strange reason, every girl just goes agog for that rude bastard. I don't get it, he's hot-headed, he hardly ever smiles, he's a real jerk...don't you think? I mean, you've sat with him for an hour everyday the past three months and he doesn't even acknowledge you in the hall."

"Mmm. I suppose." Sakura said as she wrapped the obi around Chisa's small waist. She could not help but think about the kindness that he's done for them today though. "It doesn't really bother me, maybe he's just the aloof type."

"More like the a-goof type!" Chisa laughed hysterically, but everyone knew she was a terrible joker. Sakura forced a smile. "Oh come on, it's funny!" She smacked her friend with the sheets of paper she was carrying. Sakura smiled at her and finished securing the silk green obi, "Now, did you want this hair clip or this one?"

At around seven o'clock, the juniors' Tanabata play was received with a big round of applause and at nine, members of the audience were caught wiping tears, grieving the sad fate that has befallen the lovers, Orihime and Hikoboshi. By ten o'clock, the entire Shohoku quadrangle was packed, and the giant makeshift bamboo tree was almost full of wishes. Sakura was yet to write hers down. She's been so busy with the program flow that she completely forgot to write her own wish. When Chisa called for an intermission, she went to get her wish hung up.

Wishing has always been difficult for her. She hardly ever wanted anything that she could not make happen on her own. But this year, she wanted something she wasn't sure she could get on her own. She hoped imploring the gods help would help realize the wish. So on a piece of paper ripped from a notebook, she wrote, "Friendship" and tied it up.

They burned the Wish tree at midnight. The smoke was supposed to send their messages and wishes to the gods. As the flames rose high, the fireworks went off and the brightness consumed the dark of the night. Sakura could not help but think of their secret Santa Claus as she marveled at the fireworks display. _I wonder what his wish was?_

-o-o-o-o-o-

Sakura greeted Kaede with a big smile when he walked in for their study session that Monday. He ignored her cheerful mood as he sat himself on his usual seat. He had a question he's been wanting to ask her for a while now, and if now wasn't a good time to ask, then when? "Hey, listen, I was wondering-"

"Hold that thought. Rukawa-kun, I just want to say, thank you so much for your help last week! The fireworks were beautiful! Did you see them?" He did. He watched the festivities and the fireworks from the school rooftop. "Even the school board thought so that they rewarded the junior representatives with a weekend trip to Kyoto!" Sakura exclaimed happily. Kaede only regarded her with a small smile. "So thank you," she bowed slightly and Kaede shrugged in response.

"I was wondering, if you wanted to come with? We're going this weekend and since you made such a big contribution, you ought to come along." She said. Kaede was thrown aback by her question and he shot her a bewildered look.

Sakura kept talking, "Kyoto is a beautiful place! We're staying at a nice hot spring resort and we plan to go see the Gion Matsuri and the Kamigamo Shrine! It's going to be fun. The Junior Council members will be there and the junior representatives as well and everyone else that's participated in the program." She paused to gauge his reaction, her smile seemingly stuck on her face.

Kaede huffed, "We have a game this weekend, so no."

The smile on Sakura's face fell, "Oh...okay...um..." _Guess she'll have to find another way to show her gratitude for his help. _"Then...um...what were you saying earlier?"

Kaede deadpanned. "Nevermind, it was nothing."

"No, no tell me." Sakura said, she looked really crestfallen.

"It's not important." Kaede shook his head and looked away. When he glanced back at her, her big gray eyes were just pleading with him to just say it.

Kaede sighed, "I was just wondering if you wanted to come to the game this weekend. It's our last game before the prefecturals...so I don't know, I thought you might have wanted to check it out." Kaede watched for her reaction and her immediate response was just surprise. "But now I know you have plans, so forget I said anything." Kaede said, distracting himself by flipping through his history book.

The study session proceeded as usual, though there was a noticeable lack of enthusiasm on Sakura's part. _Torn_, was a good word to describe how she felt.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The Juniors arrived in Kyoto at around 11 in the morning. Immediately she and the whole group went to taste some of the local cuisine for lunch, gathering at the Isetan for some _matcha _and ramen. Sakura could not shake the guilt feeling she had. She felt horrible refusing his request even before he could ask, after what he's done for all of them. _So stupid, _she said to herself.

None of the other juniors seemed to have noticed her sullen mood, except for Chisa. "Oi, what's up with you?" She said between a mouthful of ramen. Sakura was not talkative, but she usually had a lively aura around her and an extremely positive attitude about food. Now, she was just exuding gloom and worry and she barely even touched her food.

Sakura did not respond, which prompted Chisa to do something desperate to catch her attention: with her chopsticks, she grabbed the dumpling that lay on top of the noodles and stuffed it in her mouth. She got the response she wanted: Sakura gasped, her eyes wide like saucers and she looked like she was about to yell at someone. Upon noticing it had been Chisa, Sakura calmed down. She was always kinder and more patient with her one and only best friend. Everyone else would have faced her wrath for eating her most favorite part about ramen.

"You know I like my dumplings." Sakura pouted. "I know." Chisa chewed, then swallowed. "But you weren't responding to me. What's wrong with you? You've been glum all day. We're in Kyoto! Cheer up!"

Sakura forced a smile and Chisa raised her brow, "Now I know there really is something wrong when you fake a smile. Tell me, what is this about?" Sakura has never been a very open person about her thoughts and feelings, so Chisa had to memorize her expressions and behaviors to tell if something is wrong. She's had about ten years of practice now, having been friends since middle school, so she's basically mastered Ishihara Sakura. Sakura too has learned to not try to hide something from Chisa once she's sensed it as she can be a _really _big bully when trying to pry things from her—and she doesn't ever want to be threatened to be blackmailed ever again.

Sakura looked at her friend, who was waiting for her to speak. She looked across the table and saw that everyone else was too busy goofing around to notice that they were having a serious talk. "It's Rukawa-kun."

Chisa gasped, "Did he hurt you?" Chisa has a tendency to overreact and over-assume things.

Sakura shook her head, "No," she laughed a bit then paused to think. _I suppose it's okay to tell her. Chisa won't tell anyone and the festivities are over anyway. _"Rukawa-kun was our donor for the fireworks."

Chisa's jaw dropped. Then it opened and closed several times-Sakura thought she looked like a fish. She could see that Chisa was having a hard time processing the information, and she understood. No one would ever expect the _kitsune _to be generous. Chisa was realizing that she was wrong about him_. He's not a big jerk._

When she finally found the words, Chisa turned back to her and whispered, "And you feel bad because it had been because of his big gift that we are here and he is not even here?" Man, can she read her like a book. Sakura nodded.

"Why isn't he here? Didn't you invite him?"

"I did. But he had a game."

"Ah. Well, you can't change that. The guy loves basketball more than anything." Chisa said then went back to her ramen. But Sakura still only stared at hers.

"Wait, there's more?" Chisa gasped.

"Huh?"

"You're still sulking. There's a part you have not told me."

Sakura could not decide whether having a friend who knows you all too well was a good thing, like a source of support and strength-or a form of weakness, a source of vulnerability. Yet though she had these dilemmas, it's never stopped her from trusting Chisa. With Chisa, it was okay to be weak once in a while, "He invited me to today's game. And I just feel awful for having chosen this rather than acquiescing to his request after what he's done for all of us."

Chisa did not say anything, so she took it as a cue to continue. "I just feel like such an ingrate."

Chisa shushed her, "You're not, otherwise you wouldn't be moping around like this in Kyoto. But, Sakura-chan, couldn't you just be overthinking this?" she poked her dark-haired friend, who was still pouting, staring at her now cold ramen. Chisa gave up, "Sakura-chan, what's the use of you being here if your mind dwells elsewhere? I believe you know exactly what you must do."

Sakura looked at her friend for a moment, she was smiling reassuringly at her. A quick glance at the clock and Sakura picked up her bags and bolted for the next train back to Kanagawa. It takes four hours by regular train to travel from Kyoto back to Kanagawa, and if she left now, she can still make it before the game ended.

-o-o-o-o-o-

It was too easy. The Azabu players weren't very fast and their movements were easy to read. For the entire game, Riyota had a smile on his face, and the team has known that to be a sign of "piece of cake". The smiling point guard passed the ball to him and after faking a lay-up, he passed the ball to Hanamichi who subsequently dunked the ball, giving them a 24-point lead. The red-headed baboon laughed victoriously, even though there was still about five minutes on the clock—not that it matters, Kaede wouldn't even let Azabu score no matter how easy it is to beat them.

"I am a basketball genius!" Hanamichi exclaimed, loud enough for his voice to echo around the near-empty gym. There was hardly a crowd this time, Azabu didn't have that many supporters and the only ever-present group from Shohoku is the Rukawa Fans Club.

The RFC is very annoying to Kaede—who would much rather be invisible—but sometimes he can't help but appreciate them. Their attention is unwarranted, but it assures him that he is not a nobody in the basketball realm.

The game ended by 59 points. As the team walked out of the gym, Hanamichi bragged that the points were mostly made by him and _yadayadayada_. Kaede drowned his yapping by putting on his earphones, and waved a quick goodbye to the team. They were heading out to eat, but he would much rather go to sleep in his own bed.

Kaede turned a corner and up ahead noticed a girl hunched over with with her hands on her knees, and a huge fuzzy bag lay by her feet. Kaede removed his earphones and found that she appears to be sweating and panting, like she's just ran a couple of miles. He examined the girl for a moment and noticed the panda hat she had on.

"Rukawa-kun!" Sakura called and met him on the sidewalk. She was still gasping for breath when she came face to face with him, "Is it over? Is the game over? Aw, I missed it!" She said in between breaths.

Kaede was confused, "I thought you were in Kyoto?"  
Sakura's breathing began to normalize, "I was. But I came back to watch the game."

Kaede glanced at the big duffel bag she had with her, _Isn't Kyoto five hours away? _"Why?"

"Because Rukawa-kun asked me to."

Kaede was not sure how to process this: _She was in Kyoto. Then she came back to watch the game because...I asked her to? _A strange warmth surged through him, and a small smile manifested on his face. Not knowing how to further handle the strange feeling, Kaede tapped her hat down to her face.

"Hey," came her muffled voice. When she lifted her hat back up, she found Kaede walking past her, carrying her duffel bag, "Where are you going?"

"The zoo-to surrender this creature you call a bag. It's hideous."

Sakura gasped from behind him, "It's cute, not hideous!"

Kaede turned to her and smirked, "I'm taking you home, what do you think? Unless you want to stay and watch the game that you came too late for."

Sakura pouted in response and got in step with him. They walked in silence, but when she glanced at him from the corner of her eye, she saw he had smile on. _Leaving Kyoto was worth it. _


	7. Chapter 7

The first term ended a week later. The final exam scores were posted. Kaede barely passed History and did quite well in Science, thanks to the songs, but he still failed Math. Sakura tried to compliment him in English for his work and he corrected her grammar, "You may be better in Math, but I speak better English." He teased. He got a 93 in English and she got an 87.

Summer began. Students and professionals alike came out of their homes to bask in the summer sun. They had a long winter last year, and though this year's summer felt extra-hot, it was good to be outdoors, enjoying the heat rather than the freezing cold.

Some of the Shohoku students took to the beach the minute school ended. Hanamichi was being really loud at the closing ceremony about how he and his gang were going to spend the entire summer at the beach. "Haruko-chan, my sweet, you are coming with us, aren't you?" Haruko nodded, shyly and Hanamichi fist-bumped the air triumphantly.

A few minutes later, after the crowd began to disperse, Haruko came up to Kaede to ask what he was going to do for the summer. There was only one response, as usual, he'll be playing his beloved game—no matter the season, the weather, the time, he will be playing basketball. It's his number one love. "Basketball," he said coldly. Haruko blushed and looked up at him, "I was wondering if you would like to join us at the beach sometime..." she said.

"No, thank you." Kaede responded and walked away. It's not so much that he hated the beach, there was just never good company..._It's just not the same. _In the first place, Kaede was not the type of person to hang out with people he hardly knew, or had no interest in. To him, summer has always been about spending more time doing things you care about. To him, that was basketball.

Sakura, for the meantime, spent her summer in Kyoto. She wasn't able to go during the trip, so she convinced her mom that they spend their summer vacation in Kyoto. Her mom and her eight-year old younger brother, Ichiro spent their days in Kyoto touring the shrines, eating the local dishes and enjoying the hot springs. They also went to a kite festival and marveled at the beautiful kites people made—there was a dragon, a butterfly, a giant airplane, and koi fish. Ichiro really enjoyed the dragon that he took pictures with it.

The night before they were to head back to Kanagawa was the only time she was able to check her phone because her mother had conditioned them to use no phones during their trip—she had wanted it to be their family time. Sakura saw that she had a bunch of messages, most of them from Chisa, who was asking about her trip. She also sent her photos of her at the beach in Chiba with her cousins and their dog. Sakura smiled, and typed, "Looks like you had a blast!"

There were also messages from Keijiro asking if she wanted to go to the beach with the rest of the council, and one that said Chisa told him about her situation, "So message me when you get back and we'll hang out."

There were a few messages from Vodafone, and some from Aoi-kun—a student from section four who can't seem to put down his phone and just spams everyone. _Why did I even give him my email?_ She asks herself every time he sends her useless messages.

Then there was one message from basketball11 .jp, the name said Kaede, and no last name was given. Though, Sakura suspected she knew who it was. It was dated two days ago and all it said was, "soup".

_Odd. What is this about? _

-o-o-o-o-o-

The moment she returned to Kanagawa, Sakura's first stop was Kaede's apartment. It was noontime and she was completely unsure about what she was doing. When she rang the doorbell to his apartment and told him it was her, he buzzed her in, no questions. Sakura was very unsure about what was going on, and what the text was about, but here she was, standing on his doorstep, bringing soup.

A few minutes later, Kaede opened the door and she beheld his fresh-out-of the shower state: hair dripping wet, smelling all clean like a mix of linen and sandalwood. A damp towel rested on his broad shoulders, which also soaked the plain blue shirt he had on. Sakura thought the shirt brought out the color of his eyes so much, they looked like sapphires.

"Hey," she said awkwardly. She was an unexpected, uninvited visitor, how else was she going to approach this?

"Hey," Kaede responded in a low voice then his brows furrowed, as if asking, "What are you doing here?" She responded before he could even ask, since it could take him forever to finally decide to speak, "You said, 'soup'-I was not exactly sure what you meant, but here it is!" She said handing him the packed bowls of soup from the restaurant downtown.

Kaede looked down inside the bag, it was at least good for seven people. _Crap, so that message did send. She must think me a big lunatic now._

Three nights ago, he found her business card on his bedside table and wondered how she was doing. He was overcome by an urge to talk to her—more likely, listen to her talk, as they have been doing the past four months. She was the only _real _human interaction he's had in a long time—besides the occasional visit from his grandma—and he found himself wanting more of it. He fumbled with his phone for about an hour, trying to come up with some good reason to start a conversation but every thought he had was so lame: "How's summer?" "I hope there's a mathematical formula to turn this heat from a positive to negative." "Summer: where people subtract clothes and add ice cream."

In his frustration, he started pressing random keys and finally gave up. As he was pressing the delete then cancel button, the send button was accidentally pressed as well. _Curse his big fingers that can't press one button at a time..._or better yet,_ curse the man who invented tiny keypads! _He prayed to the gods that she would not see it, that technology would go haywire for a while, or some ridiculous circumstance would just prevent her from seeing it because if it did send, then his message would have been the lamest excuse for a conversation ever.

When she did not respond for three days, he thought his prayers had been answered, and felt quite relieved. But now, here she is, acknowledging receipt of the message, bringing it to his doorstep. _This is embarrassing._

"Um...thanks." was all Kaede could say. What else could he have said, _Um, sorry, I didn't ask for soup? _It would be rude to give it back after she'd gone through all this trouble, "Would you like to come in for a bit?"

Sakura looked genuinely surprised. It was a gesture that is unexpected of Kaede. But she obliged his invitation and stepped in. She removed her shoes and he led her to the living room. Sakura realized, judging from the pairs of shoes that was all his at the foyer, that Kaede lives alone. But for a young teenager, he lives in a pretty decent, spic-and-span apartment. He had a big living room, all carpeted with a big flat-screen TV, a big couch, a balcony that overlooked the park across the street, a U-shaped kitchen with a bar, intersecting a small dining area, and she guesses that the two doors down the hall lead to the bedrooms. He didn't have a lot of furniture, but he had everything he needed. There wasn't much décor either. He had a big console table that had some pictures and a trophy, but other than that, nothing else.

Kaede was in the kitchen messing with something while Sakura looked around. The trophy had been for being the Most Valuable Player in Junior High. There were two framed pictures next to it: one, was that of a couple and a cute young boy with a big toothless smile making sand castles at the beach, and the other was of the same couple in the Grand Canyon, dated last year. _These are his parents...They're in the States? That's why he said they spoke English. _It felt as if a rock lodged itself in Sakura's throat after she realized this. _I wonder exactly how long he's been living alone?_

Sakura stalked to check out the CD rack by the TV. There were some action movies, mostly involving cars, and some Hollywood movies in their original version. On the bottom part of the rack were video games, racing games, RPGs, and—"Whoa, you have the new Tekken 5?!" Sakura exclaimed. She could not help it, she was a big fan of the game. She did not play video games often, but when she did, it was usually Tekken.

"No, I do not." Kaede said from the kitchen, but Sakura was already caressing the CD case, ignoring his sarcasm, "Does it have new characters? How many did they add?"

"A few."  
"You want to play? I bet I can beat you."

-o-o-o-o-o-

Two and a half hours later, two bowls sat empty on the coffee table. The two unlikely friends ate the soup with rice in between matches of Tekken 5 and King of Fighters. Sakura finished five servings—a big appetite for such a skinny girl. She also won most of the matches but Kaede asserts that she's just button-mashing. "You're just a sore loser," she teases. He found her to be so animated when they play: moving with her character, shouting when she makes a hit and squealing when her life line runs low. She was loud but Kaede didn't mind. It was the liveliest this house has ever been in a long time.

They talked about their summer for a bit. He learned that she did go back to Kyoto, and he told her about his summer playing basketball at the park. "You play basketball so much, you should allocate some of your basketball time to more practice at Tekken, so you can beat me next time." She said proudly.

"_ALISA WINS!" _Her character giggled and so did she, "Man, Rukawa-kun, you are not bad at this game...you are terrible." She said from her spot on the floor.

"You're just button-mashing." Kaede said in a low voice. He began reaching for another CD, see if there's another game they can play.

"You're just upset because you got beat by a girl." She raised one eyebrow at him and he presented to her another game they could play: MarioKart.

"Well, we'll see about that." He said and slipped the CD into the Wii.

"MarioKart? Should be fine. I've played racing games before."

She was terrible. She didn't know how to turn. She kept colliding into turtle shells. She always missed the item box—_seriously, how can you miss an item box? _And when they raced on the Rainbow Road, she kept falling off. She said she had a fear of heights and Rainbow Road just scared her. She insists she'll do okay if they raced on a different track—but she never did. She falls off in Ghost Valley and Choco Island and gets crushed in Bowser Castle. Again and again. Kaede could not remove the smirk that was on his face. _Victory_.

An hour later, she finally resigns, "Alright, so I'm not a very good driver, laugh at me." She took a mouthful of the chips he laid out. Kaede just shot her a lop-sided grin, as he began flipping through Wii sports.

"So...your parents, are they at work? Are they coming home soon?"

No one's asked him that in a long time. Granted, no one else really knew about his parents. But he thought she would have guessed by now that he lived alone. Kaede clicked on Wii Bowling, "You don't have to worry about them coming home soon." He said quietly, when Sakura did not respond and instead just kept staring at him, he continued, "They work abroad."

Sakura finally turned away and chewed on her Pocky like a squirrel, the crumbs falling on her pink shorts. She was silent until she started losing at the game again. Actually, they were both terrible at Wii Bowling. He had better control than her, but the scores were still terrible.

He heard a gasp from her so suddenly after her turn, "Is that the time?" She said pointing at the clock in the kitchen, which was a quarter to five.

"No. That's the temperature of the oven." She took his sarcasm as a yes.

"Oh no. I promised Chisa and Keijiro-kun I'll meet them downtown fifteen minutes ago!" Hurriedly, she picked up her purse and started towards the door, "I'm sorry, I have to go." She said without even facing him. Kaede switched off the Wii and followed her to the foyer, where she was just putting her shoes on. _Off to hang out with her friend and Honda on a summer night, huh?_

Sakura finished tying her shoe laces and bolted for the door, when suddenly she stopped on her tracks. She turned to him and smiled, "I had a lot of fun, Rukawa-kun." She bowed low, "Thank you for having me." Kaede gave her a weak smile, and then she left. _  
_

**I made a geographical mistake in the previous chapter. If you notice it, please ignore and carry on reading. No one gave Dan Brown crap for having Silas able to carry one giant candelabra on his own. You can let this mishap slide-at least if you notice it. I also recognize the timeline is off. It's been so long since I last watched and read Slam Dunk that I can't quite recall the setting along with certain details. So I'm aligning this story with present times. It's not going to be perfectly in tune with the original, but hey, it's called fan fiction for a reason.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Realized I haven't been posting disclaimers. Just kind of always assumed that it's understood given that this site is called . Oh well, anyway, I don't own Slam Dunk.**

**This chapter's a short one. I just want to write through a different perspective.**

When classes resumed, so did their study sessions and so did the basketball games. Shohoku was already competing in the prefecturals. Sakura invited Chisa to come along for the next games and Chisa just thought it was a chance to get out and hang out with her friend—even if she hardly knew anything about basketball. It was rare for Sakura to ask, she was pretty much a hermit, so when she did, Chisa _had to_ oblige her friend.

Haruko waved at them when she noticed their attendance, and she and Sakura went to sit with her and her friends. It was great because Haruko ended up being a really good commentator on what was happening in the game, otherwise she would have not understood what was going on. By the end of the day, she knew all about rebounds and jump shots and lay-ups.

Riyota and Kaede made the most points for the team in each of the games she attended. Riyota was smaller than the other players but he was fast and can easily swerve and sneak around to make perfect lay-ups. Kaede, on the other hand, has never missed a jump shot, which he would make from the three-point line to give them a big lead. Every time the kitsune made a shot, the gym would burst into squeals and screeching of women from the RFC, and even Haruko joined in though hers was more suppressed.

"See? I told you she's obsessed." Chisa whispered to Sakura who sat next to her on the game against Kudan. Sakura was completely focused on the game. She had a small smile on her face, which made Chisa wonder even more about her new-found interest in basketball.

"L-O-V-E, RU-KA-WA!" cheered the RFC and Kaede made a dunk-shot, sending a chorus of squeals in the air. Chisa watched Kaede dangle from the ring and let go. Then he turned their direction and made an awkward wave—more like his hand raised slightly in the air and went stiff. From the corner of her eye, Chisa could see Sakura raise her hand as well where she gave him a thumbs up sign.

The referee whistled and the game resumed. Chisa turned to her friend, "What was that about?"

"Huh? Oh, that was a mathematically calculated move." Sakura said with pride, "I taught him how to do it."

"Really? Cool." Chisa exclaimed. The cheering in the background stopped, and for a second Chisa thought the game had ended, but when she turned, she saw dozens of pairs of eyes glaring at her. "What's happening?" Chisa asked nervously. There was fire in the eyes of these women and she honestly does not want to face any of their wrath especially if she has no idea what she has done.

Haruko spoke in a whisper, "You...Rukawa-kun just waved at you." Chisa realized Haruko wasn't talking to her, but that she was addressing Sakura.

Sakura was indifferent to recent events, "Eh? Um...yeah."

"Why?" Haruko's voice trembled and Sakura noticed, she also finally noticed the RFC and the imaginary flames that burned in their eyes. "Eh? I don't know."

Sakura kept fidgeting on her seat after that, uneasy knowing that almost all the women in the room just wanted her to burn at that moment. After a while, she asked Chisa if they could leave and they did.

_Sakura is a funny character_, Chisa thought to herself. She speaks in public very easily, but trembles under the scrutiny of mad women. She hated being the center of attention outside of events. "I'm sorry we had to leave..." Sakura said as they waited for the train home.

"You don't need to apologize. Those women looked like they were about to pounce on you." Chisa said and her friend giggled nervously. Something has changed but Chisa couldn't put her finger on it.


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter is meant for added drama. I added a bunch of characters because I want her to have her own life apart from the Slam Dunk story. I apologize if it annoys anyone.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Slam Dunk.**

Sakura didn't attend the next Saturday game. She was meeting her council instead. The members had been busy with their other clubs all week, and Saturday was the only day they could meet. They needed to discuss fund-raising events for the clubs because at Shohoku, the councils had to do their part to help fund the clubs. It was raining outside and there were only nine members of the council in the room. She figured the others may have decided to sleep in and enjoy the cool Saturday weather—even Chisa wasn't there.

"Well," Sakura clapped her hands together, "we don't have complete attendance but we are at a quorum. So, the floor is now open for your ideas on fundraising activities for our clubs." Sakura has always tried to make things democratic. It is only when things fail in one way or another that the bossy tiger comes out.

"We could do a bake sale like last year." Oda, the representative from Section 6, said.

"Yes, but that didn't generate a lot of money." Mao of Section 3 replied.

"Only because we didn't have good bakers then, we may have better ones now." Oda retorted and he and Mao continued to argue about how the bake sale was not a good idea.

"Alright," Sakura sighed, "Let's hold it on the bake sale for a while. Let's explore other ideas."

Ryusuke, the representative from Section 4 who was also president of the Camera Club placed his camera down and raised his hand, "Oh, we could have a car wash. If the girls wear cute outfits, we can catch plenty of attention with that!" As with every group, there is always one that is a voyeur. Hoshi, Ryusuke's girlfriend and also the council secretary, was quick to smack his head with a notebook, "We are not doing that!"

Ryusuke groaned in pain, "It's just an idea! Pretty faces catch attention." Ryusuke said as he played with the lens of his camera.

"Write that on the minutes anyway." Keijiro said to Hoshi, and she did so bitterly.

"What I don't understand," Kyo of Section 9 began, speaking with a pencil in his mouth, "Is why the clubs can't just raise the funds themselves?" He said, brushing his long brown hair away from his face. He was always a voice of negativity in the room.

"It would certainly make my job easier." Miyuki said, frowning over her ledger, as always seeming like there's a bitter taste in her mouth. She's the council Treasurer, only second best in Math next to Sakura. Ever since she's got a boyfriend, she's seemed unwilling to play an active role in the council.

Kyo took that as affirmation and leaned forward to speak in a louder voice, "Right? They should at least contribute something. I mean, how many clubs do we have to fund?"

"There are about ten major non-academic clubs, our sport teams and then minor random clubs." Hoshi responded.

"We have to support those stupid clubs as well? I don't even get the point of the Cosplay club." Oda commented.  
"The students don't join the clubs to raise funds, they're there to do what they want to do. And in order to encourage participation, we have to help keep the clubs alive." Ryusuke said and Hoshi beamed with pride. Sakura was relieved she had him to help her fight for the clubs.

"Yeah, but if they want to keep their clubs alive, shouldn't they also help keep it alive?" Kyo argued. Sakura hated admitting it, but he had a point.

"How about, we come up with a fundraiser that includes the involvement of the clubs? That way the club members can do what they want to do and raise the funds at the same time and everybody's happy." Keijiro said, a smug smile on his face.

The room was silent and all that could be heard was the pitter-patter of raindrops on the window pane. It seems everyone recognizes that it is a great idea. Sakura didn't want to admit it since Keijiro did run against her for council president, but she was proud to have him on the team. She holds no ill feelings against him. They have both become quite good friends, though at times, there is still that feeling of competition borne from her insecurities. Nonetheless, Sakura has high respect for Keijiro. He _is_ the smartest student in the junior year and his ideas are beyond exceptional. He has this clever way of being able to assess both vantage points to come up with the most cost-effective solutions.

"I like that idea." Sakura finally acknowledged. "We'll organize a fundraising fair involving all the clubs we can tap. Ryusuke-kun, I trust we can count on the Camera club on this one?"

Ryusuke nodded, "I'm meeting them later. I'll talk to them then."

Sakura continued, "I'll talk to Chisa about the Sewing Club and Oda, maybe you can talk to the Cooking Club about organizing a bake sale?"

"Aye, aye, Ma'am!" Oda saluted and stuck his tongue out at Mao. Mao only rolled her eyes in response.

"Hoshi, please get memos out to the clubs, see which clubs want to get involved." She continued. This is how she won against Keijiro. Even though she's not the smartest junior, she has better leadership skills—Keijiro conceded to the fact after the elections last year. Keijiro may have the ideas but he's too snotty and arrogant to earn the loyalty of their class.

Sakura paused to look at her notes. Camera club, Cosplay club, Sewing club, Cooking club, Art club. Suddenly, her phone that was sitting on the table vibrated. She checked it quickly. The message was from basketball11 .jp. "Where are you?" It said. It was the first time he's ever emailed her—unless she counts the odd one, then this one would be the first _real sensical_ message he's sent her. She has no idea what this is about but she typed quickly, "I'm at a council meeting" and resumed her attention to her notes and their meeting.

"I'll get my band to play at the event." Kyo volunteered. Sakura smiled at him. It was SOP. They played during Tanabata too. Despite his pessimism, there's this about Kyo that she's always counted on: music. Other than the fact that she likes the genre of music his band plays, Kyo is a really good musician, he knows every genre of music out there. "You know the music I like." She told him and Kyo responded by drumming on the table.

"So, we have a bunch of clubs together, but what are they going to be doing?" Hoshi asked.

"See, I want it to be cohesive." Sakura paused to look at her notes again, "I want the clubs to work together."

Kyo, Mao and Ryusuke started talking in the background about choice songs for the event and Keijiro and Miyuki started talking about which other clubs they could guarantee would participate.

The dots finally aligned for Sakura. "How about, we get the Camera club to do a photo booth. The Cosplay club could take care of make-up and the Sewing club could work on costumes?" Ryusuke was already smiling, looking quite excited about the idea, "We should have the event outdoors. Natural light is always best."

"What about the other clubs?" Miyuki asked.

"This is tentative. We'll have to confirm their participation first." Keijiro interjected.

"Right. I trust Oda's convincing powers to get the Cooking club to take care of snacks and treats. We'll be helping them out of course." Oda smiled at the compliment.

"One one side, we can have the Art club display their exhibits. I heard some of them have been trying to sell some of their pieces." Mao commented.

"Are they even good?" Kyo was skeptical.

"Good enough."

"They can sketch right? Do portraits?" Keijiro inquired and Mao nodded, "As far as I know."

"Then they can do that as well."

Miyuki raised her hand, "What about the sports teams? They take up most of the funds, how can they participate?"

"They can help with logistics. Put those muscles to use, only thing they're good at." Keijiro commented with a smirk, leaving the council room with an air of awkwardness. _There he goes again with his condescension._

"Well," Kyo was the first to break the ice, "It sounds good so far. I like it." Kyo smiled and drummed on the table again.

"I'm excited." Hoshi said and scribbled something on her notebook.

"Yes, get the letters out by Monday. RSVP by Thursday and get confirming clubs to attend our meeting next Saturday morning. I hope to start working on this ASAP so we can implement it on our target date in the middle of fall." Sakura said.

"That would be perfect, the colors of fall are beautiful." Ryusuke said as he snapped pictures of the group. He does it all the time, everyone's pretty much used to it and just ignores him. He says he likes candid shots anyway.

"We'll finalize the details next weekend." Sakura said, glancing at the dark sky outside—it was still pouring hard. "Alright. I believe there's nothing else on our agenda?" Sakura turned to Hoshi and she confirmed it. "Meeting adjourned."

Everyone began to leave. Ryusuke left with Hoshi for his next meeting and everyone else started chatting about stuff. "Sakura," Kyo called. She turned to him as she was fumbling with her purse trying to put her notebook back in. "UVERworld?" He was talking about her favorite band and she gave him a thumbs up as a go signal, "Oh, and maybe add some Yui and Scandal there." Kyo mocked a salute and left.

"Are you heading home?" Keijiro said as she was just getting out.

"Yeah," She grabbed her umbrella and untied it.

"Mind if I walk with you?"

Sakura shook her head. She and Keijiro walked home together that night, brainstorming themes for the fundraiser.


	10. Chapter 10

"Logistics? Sure, we can do that. But I'm sure there are other things I can be of use for." Sakura overheard Hanamichi in the hall. He was talking to Hoshi and Riyota about the basketball team's participation in the upcoming fundraiser.

It was Wednesday. So far, only the Cooking club, the Sewing club, the Camera club, and the track, swimming and basketball teams have confirmed participation.

"Like what exactly?" Hoshi crossed her arms, hugging her clipboard against her chest, a skeptical look on her face. Hoshi is great, but not her sense of humor. She has little patience for joking around.

"I'm sure there are plenty of girls who will want photos with me at the photo booth." Hanamichi said, practicing manly poses. Sakura rolled her eyes and giggled, _Such a goofball._

Hoshi deadpanned, "Aaand, I don't think so." Riyota chuckled shaking his head, "How about we host a basketball shoot out? Sakuragi, didn't you say you bought a new in-ground basketball hoop?"

"But it takes forever to get that disassembled and assembled again." Hanamichi groaned. "Why can't I just pose for pictures?"

"You can pay _and then_ pose for pictures." Hoshi said with sass in her tone. At this point, Sakura couldn't help but butt in, "I like the shoot out idea, Miyagi-sempai."

"Thanks, I was thinking we could have a free-throw and dunk competition. Prizes will be Shohoku team merchandise." Riyota beamed.

"Or autographed basketballs. I'm sure plenty of girls are clamoring for my autograph. I'm ready to give away some of my old jerseys." Hanamichi said and Sakura giggled. She's changed her opinion of him since last year. For a while she believed what others said, that Hanamichi was a jerk. But later she realized, that under that tough guy facade, was a softie and under the silliness was one that carries plenty of potential, which can be brought out with the right motivations. And indeed, he rose to the ranks and made a name for himself in basketball. She'll always see him as that guy now—the goofball with the hidden talent.

"No one wants your stinky jerseys." Riyota said.

"They don't stink! I happen to wash them with lots of fabric softener!"

"Oh really?" Riyota raised his eyebrow, "Because earlier when I passed by your locker it smelled like death."

"Shut up!" Hanamichi turned tomato red, "That was my lunch from yesterday that I forgot to eat!" He stomped off, still red in the face.

Sakura giggled and turned to face Riyota, "I'm sure someone out there will want an autographed basketball from the team. You did make it to the Inter-high last year. That's pretty admirable."

"Probably. It's just fun to make fun of him, don't you think?" Riyota smirked, glancing towards the direction Hanamichi went.

"Well, finalize the shoot out thing and let us know on Saturday." Hoshi said, jotting something down on her clipboard. Then she waved a quick 'see you later' to meet Ryusuke for lunch.

"Well, see you later as well, Ishihara-chan." Riyota started but Sakura stopped him, "Wait, Miyagi-sempai!"

"Hm?"

Sakura's forehead creased, "I was wondering if you knew where Rukawa-kun is? He did not show up to study last Monday and yesterday as well. I emailed him, but I have not received a response."

"Oh? Sorry. I thought he told you." Riyota scratched his chin, his scruff is longer now. "He called in sick the other day, said something about rain and flu. Couldn't understand what he was saying on the other line."

_He got rained on and now he's sick? _"Are you going to visit him?" She asked, her forehead creasing even more.

"What? He's not dying, Ishihara-chan. Rukawa's a big boy. He can take care of himself. Besides, I have to finalize this shoot out thing for the Saturday meeting."

"Ah, yes." Sakura said weakly.

It began to rain as Riyota waved a 'see you later'. She watched the raindrops fall outside unable to help the images in her head of a sick Kaede and the photograph of his parents in the Grand Canyon.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Sakura closed her umbrella and set it against the doorframe, where Get Well Soon cards were pasted all over the door. On his doormat sat a bunch of teddy bears and flowers. She thought it was sweet that the RFC girls cared so much for him. _It's nice. _But she wondered how they all got in? Sakura was fortunate to have someone enter the apartment complex when she arrived and so she just kind of took advantage of the open door.

She raised her fist to knock, but then stopped herself. _I didn't bring a gift. _She didn't even think of bringing one. _Aw, stupid. _Sakura's face met her palm. She remembered to stop by the clinic to get some medicine and a thermometer but she forgot to pick up a gift. How lame of her. But there was no turning back now, Kaede needed to get better. No need to feel insecure about presents.

She knocked. "Rukawa-kun? It's Sakura." She called through the door. She's not even sure if he hears it. Maybe he's asleep, he sleeps so deeply too. Not only was the fox hard to wake, he was dangerous to wake. He's kind of like a bear that should rather just stay in hibernation...except he hates bears.

Surprisingly, Kaede opened the door. His bloodshot eyes were cracked only slightly open. Dressed in his pajamas, he had a blanket over his shoulders and she could feel the heat emanating from him a foot away.

Immediately, she came to his side and supported him back to his bed. It was dark in his room, with only a lamp on but she found the bed and he laid down. She noticed he was trembling despite how warm he was, so she tucked him in under his blankets—all the while trying to ignore the fact that she was in a young man's bedroom. But it didn't work. Through the dimness, she could still see the shelf of books and mangas, the basketball posters that kept reminding her of where she was, and the smell of sandalwood enforced that even more. It was_...So Rukawa._

Kaede groaned, holding on to his blanket, still shivering. "Have you eaten?" Sakura asked and Kaede shook his head slightly.

"Then, hold on, I'll be right back." She turned around and cleaned up the tissues that were on the floor. She began rummaging through the closets for a blanket...it was weird, she did feel like an intruder. But she was sure he didn't mind-he can't really protest in his state. In her quest, she grabbed towels and extra shirts, not failing to notice that Kaede was so organized, his shirts were even hung up by color. When she finally found another blanket that was big enough to cover his tall form, head to foot, she lay it over him and the shivering began to die down a bit.

Then she went to the kitchen and managed to find her way around to be able to cook something. She found that he didn't have a lot of things in his kitchen. He mostly had processed foods-like anyone living alone would have-but at least he had the ingredients for chicken soup.

While the food cooked, Sakura placed a cold compress on his head and checked his temperature. She gasped as she read 39 degrees in Celsius. She recalled in Science class, people could get convulsions or seizures from having temperatures that high. "Oh Rukawa-kun, why did you go out in the rain?"

The soup finished cooking. It smelled so good, it made Sakura hungry as well, but no, she needed to attend to him first not her growling stomach. She helped Kaede sit up and began spoon-feeding him, making sure to blow on the soup so he doesn't burn his tongue. It was weird for her. She's only ever done this for Ichiro when their mom was away. But Kaede did not have a parent or a sibling to look after him...she has to look past the weirdness of it all so he can get better.

Kaede was sweating and he had his eyes closed as he ate. He swallowed, "I feel like a child." He said, his voice sounding weird from his stuffy nose. "Well, that's what you get for going out in the rain without an umbrella." She said in a motherly tone, which made Kaede smirk.

_Smiling is always a good sign._

When he could not eat any more, she gave him the pills she brought. "You'll need to take another one in a few hours." She told him. She noticed his shirt was soaked in sweat so she left for the bathroom. A few minutes later, she returned with a pot (in the absence of a basin) of water and a damp towel.

"Here can you sit up for a bit?" She said and helped Kaede up. He was so groggy and weak. It was rather sad to see such a strong guy be so weak so suddenly.

Sakura held the damp towel and huffed, _Be professional, _she told herself. It was her mantra for the next few minutes. But all the while, she could not help the deep blush on her face as she wiped his face, his neck, and his arms—even more when she had to remove his shirt and wipe down his chest and his back—and even more so when Kaede decided to joke about it, "You're molesting me." She burned when he said that, her face going ten shades of red. He smirked, satisfied at the reaction he got. "Shut up. I'm just trying to help you."

Swiftly, she helped him put on another shirt and he lay back down, kicking off one layer of blanket.

Sakura cleaned up the rest of the mess and cleared his bedside table for a pitcher of water and his pills and the thermometer she brought. She noticed a card laying next to the lamp and when she flipped it over, she realized it was the business card she'd given him. She smiled and placed it next to his pills.

"Here, you need to drink plenty of water." She said and Kaede nodded.

"Then take your pills again in four hours." Kaede nodded.

"And if you need anything, call me." Kaede's eyes cracked open to look at her, "Okay?" And he nodded.

Sakura began to leave hesitantly. He looked so pathetic, kind of like a newly hatched baby bird without its mother. "I'll check on you again in the morning."

Kaede turned on his bed, "Mmm. My keys...on the bar."

It was almost eight when Sakura left. And all through the night she kept checking her phone to see if he's called. In the morning, she went to check on him and found the fever had gone down a bit. She fed him the congee she brought from home and left the leftovers so he can have something to eat for lunch. When she returned in the afternoon, she found Kaede with a blanket over his shoulders, playing video games on the couch.

"You're all better." She came up to him on the couch and touched his forehead. It wasn't hot anymore, "Wonderful. Are you going to be able to make it to school tomorrow?" She asked and Kaede shrugged, staying focused on some kind of war game.

"Well, I hope you do." She said and started to get up. She fetched him some more water, placing a pitcher on the coffee table in front of him. "Is there anything you need right now?"

Kaede pressed his lips and shook his head, eyes glued to the screen.

"Well, it's nice to see you better. I'm going to go. I have stuff to take care of."  
"Student council meeting again?" Kaede's tone was bitter and he did not glance at her once, keeping focused on his game.  
"No. But here are your keys. Let me know if you need anything." She left the keys on the bar and started for the door.

As she was putting her shoes back on in the foyer, she heard Kaede call from the living room, "Ishihara-san...Arigato."

Few words. But it was enough.

**R&R please.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Please R&R. Would greatly appreciate it if you can let me know how I'm doing.**

_Friend_. Kaede thought sleepily as he walked to his classroom on Friday. All that Sakura did for him, it was beyond compare. They've only known each other for a short time, but she knew him more than the team. She was his friend and knowing that made him feel all warm and special. Of course, he would not have been sick in the first place had she just gone to the game and shared her umbrella with him and they could have walked home together afterward...but, hey, she made up for it—in ways he did not even expect. It was...really nice...to have someone.

"We have seven clubs participating now: Cooking, Arts, Sewing, Camera clubs, and the track, swimming, basketball and archery teams are helping out. I hear they all have exciting ideas. Oh, I can't wait!" Kaede heard her voice as he was walking down the hall. His eye cracked open and he saw that she was hanging out by her locker, talking to Honda Keijiro.

All of a sudden, the feelings of warmth went away, and was replaced by that of annoyance. Annoyance turned to loathing when Keijiro whispered something and she laughed. Man, did he hate that guy.

For the first time, since they've known each other, Kaede's feet brought him face to face with her in the hall. Sakura looked surprised to see him in front of her. They've never spoken in school before besides during their study sessions.

Kaede did not know what he was doing, he wanted to yell at her, he wanted to hit Keijiro, but he didn't know why—he wasn't sure why. And she'd only deem him crazy if he did that. So Kaede had to come up with an excuse for coming up to her, "What's the chemical symbol for salt again?" It was lame, he knew the answer, but it was something. He's not a complete lunatic yet.

Keijiro chortled.

_Die, do'ahu. _Kaede ignored him and kept his eyes focused on Sakura who had glanced at her vice president upon hearing the ugly sound coming from his throat.

The blonde pushed his glasses up to his nose and looked up at Kaede, "Really? Who doesn't know that?" Keijiro is about Kiyota's height. Kaede was a good head taller than him and he figured he could take the guy easily. But Sakura wouldn't like that.

Sakura gave Kaede a weak smile, "It's NaCl. Why do you ask?"

Kaede shrugged, "Just refreshing on the non-water products of Bronstead acid-base reaction." He liked saying that. It sounded smart and sure enough the smile on Keijiro's face fell.

"Oh, neat! We'll review it later, if you like." Sakura said excitedly. Kaede nodded and hesitantly bid her a 'See you later'. He hated leaving her with jerkwad.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Planning the fundraiser was going great. They had several more clubs confirm participation last minute and even the Freshman and Senior student councils joined in, making it a huge collaborative project among the year levels and the clubs. They were all drawn to the carnival theme, the Fabulous Fall Carnival. She and Keijiro came up with it. It will not only generate money, but it will also be fun and festive—a good way to greet the cold months.

Like all carnivals, the Fabulous Fall Carnival will have music and dancing, and games. It's going to run from morning to afternoon. There's a lot to do, the organizers were all excited. Even the teachers were. It was really nice to get all the clubs together to organize the event. Sakura thought it was a truly great way for Shohoku students to showcase their talents and interests. Keijiro is really smart to have thought of it.

The entire city had known about the carnival two weeks before the event. The Freshman council took it upon themselves to spread the word downtown, even in Tokyo, to get more people to come. Surprisingly, Kaede did not know.

"Huh? How can you not know? I've been talking about it for weeks." Sakura said, as she watched Kaede solve some advanced algebra equations.

"You said you had a big project this Saturday. You never mentioned it was a carnival." He responded, not looking up from his solution.

"But there are posters around...oh, wait. Duh. You are never awake even when you are." She puffed her cheeks, she will never understand how he does it. "Wait, didn't Miyagi-sempai tell you? The basketball team is very much engaged in the project. They're going to have their own booth and all. I hear Sakuragi-kun is hosting a free-throw shoot out and dunk contest, prizes are Shohoku merchandise."

Kaede raised his eyebrow, "Really? That monkey?" He paused to enter the equal sign on his calculator then wrote down the answer on his notebook. "And no, Riyota did not tell me. He only told me to be at the soccer field on Saturday."

Sakura did not understand why Riyota would exclude Kaede from the activity. But if she knows the guy enough, he's probably up to something. The question is what?

-o-o-o-o-o-

The carnival was packed. The clubs were all generating revenue in amounts bigger than they've ever had. Sakura manned the sounds booth with Keijiro, Hoshi and Nao of the Senior council when Mao came up to them excitedly, "This is awesome! Have you guys seen all the booths yet? You have to check out the Judo club's little gimmick. They got sumo suits for sumo wrestling! It is most fun to watch!"

"Aw, I want to check that out!" Hoshi groaned and pouted her lips. Sakura thought she looked like a little duckling, just not the cute kind.

"You guys go ahead and take a break," Nao smiled, her face hidden behind thick glasses. "I'll call some council members to take care of this for a while."

"Gee, thanks, Nao-sempai!" Hoshi squealed and rose to her feet immediately, clinging on to Mao's arm as Sakura and Keijiro followed closely behind.

The atmosphere was really festive, Sakura thought. The Camera, Sewing and Cosplay club did end up collaborating together for a fantastic photo booth where people can dress up, get make up done and get their photographs taken. They're also offering a special photo shoot session for a higher price where customers can get their photos taken against a backdrop of beautiful autumn. It was a big hit as it did cater to people's vanities. The four of them got photobooth pictures done for free, at the insistence of Ryusuke who was happily snapping pictures.

There were plenty of other booths. Mao was right in saying that the sumo wrestling was really quite entertaining. They dared Keijiro to go for it, but he said it was below him. The young man's hubris was off the charts. "You know, it's a wonder you still have friends." Mao said bluntly. She finished it with a laugh to make it seem like a joke, but Sakura knew it was half-meant. A part of her knew it was true, and maybe he needed to hear it. But a part of her also felt bad for Keijiro. The guy didn't have very many friends—fewer than hers—and it was sad. _No one should ever be alone._

The Arts club did a henna tattoo and face painting booth along with an exhibit of the club's masterpieces. The Cooking club served various types of food and pastries, including recipes they've come up with on their own. Oda was there helping out. Mao commented bitterly that the only reason he supported the Cooking club so much was because he had feelings for one of the members. Sakura had wanted to try some of the food, her mouth watered from the smell, but Mao had pulled all of them away to lead them elsewhere.

The music stopped when Kyo's band had to take a breather. It switched for the line dancing event and a group of people began dancing in the middle. Mao and Hoshi decided to join in but Sakura was not much of a dancer. She and Keijiro moved on to the Jail booth of the History club, where they announced the kind of prisoners they were going to take: those who wear red, those who wear sneakers, or those with differently colored hair. When captured, the only way out is if someone bailed them out. Sakura didn't think it would work very well when they first pitched it to her, thinking that people would resist. But now she realizes it's actually a very good idea, people willingly went with to see who cared enough to bail them out. The gimmick really appealed to the human need for validation. Now, she could see that their cash box was filled. Sakura smiled at Kanbe, the president, "I was wrong, you were right." And he beamed with pride.

She and Keijiro walked around more and saw a high striker, an auction and even a science and engineering show. Keijiro acted like a guide, explaining to her the properties and concepts of each project. He was so smart. Sakura was marveling at the Rainbow Fire project in the science exhibit when Keijiro spoke, "Would you look at that?"

Sakura turned to see what he was talking about. She followed his gaze to a big crowd of girls. For a second she thought Keijiro had other _boyish_ intentions but then she realized that it was the basketball team's booth when she heard Hanamichi's booming voice, "Yes, yes, ladies. Don't worry, you'll all get a turn, just make sure you pay up."

Sakura gasped, _What is happening over there? _She walked over and found Riyota practically bathing in money. Girls were lined up to take free-throw shots.

"Oi, Sakura! You want to take a shot too?" Riyota said, a big smug smile on his face.

Sakura offered him a smile, glancing quickly at Ayako who sat next to him receiving payments and handing out tickets, too busy to notice her arrival. "What did you do?" She inquired.

"Simple. I captured consumer appeal." When Sakura still looked confused, he pointed to a platform on the opposite side of the ring, where Kaede sat surrounded by Yasuharu and other Shohoku team members—annoying Aoi was there too. She gasped, looking half amused, half worried, "_What _did you do?!"

"One hundred yen per three shots: make three baskets and you get to talk to him for five minutes. Three hundred yen per six shots: make all six baskets and you get to talk to him for five minutes and he'll sign your notebook. Five hundred yen per ten shots and if you make it all, you get to talk to him for five minutes plus you can get a picture taken with him." Riyota laughed as he watched Sakura's agape jaw.

"That is absurd." Keijiro commented while watching the girls make free-throws. They'd miss all their shots and line up again for another try. Plenty of them took the third option on their first try, others with fewer funds take the first option.

"That's it, keep trying, girls. You wouldn't want to miss a chance of being able to sit and talk with our Ice King, would ya?" Hanamichi said, his words echoed by his gang who stood with him in everything—defending what he defend, loving what he loved, selling what he sold. They are quite a group of friends.

"Miyagi-sempai, this is brilliant but I have to admit it's cruel!" Sakura exclaimed, feeling sorry for the girls that were going to be broke at the end of the day, feeling sorry for Kaede who was forced to do something against his will. But at the same time, she can't help but feel slightly amused. It was very clever of Riyota to have come up with it. _The guy has so many tricks up his sleeve. _

Riyota only shrugged, "Meh, the girls will do anything for him. And we saved him from being forced to go on blind dates," He was referring to the track team's gimmick, where you pay to get your friend on a blind date with his or her crush. But he was right, Kaede would be in demand over there too and that was far more imposing—though it's not like they could tie him up to do it. The man was stubborn and strong.

Riyota huffed, "It's not like he's totally suffering over there. There are hardly any winners anyway." Just as he said that, Hanamichi whistled in the background, "And this girl's got herself a five minute conversation with the fox! As for the rest of you, keep buying those tickets. It will help the team get new hot jackets!"

Sakura watched as the girl skipped to the platform and the Shohoku team made way for her to seat herself on the stool next to Kaede's. "And the way you got him to agree to do this was by not telling him that he was doing it. That's why you excluded him in the planning process."

Ayako spoke from her spot, "He would not have agreed had we told him early on. As expected, he argued with us when he found out earlier today, but eventually he sat down and played his part for the team."

"And now, we're rich!" Riyota guffawed but Sakura was too busy watching the exchange between the winning girl and Kaede to pay him any more mind.

The girl was cute with big eyes and cute short locks. Sakura recognized her as one of the school reporters, a girl who's a year older than them. She could see her talking excitedly, blushing, flipping her hair, playing with her skirt, but Kaede gave her no attention. He appeared to give only one-word responses. "He's not really talking to her." Sakura thought, not realizing she'd said it out loud.

"Rukawa does what Rukawa does," said the guy who stood by Ayako. He wasn't wearing a Shohoku uniform so she figured he must be an outsider. He was watching the girls make clumsy free-throws and he glanced at Sakura to give her a friendly smile. Sakura noticed the scar on his chin and thought she's seen him around before. He was a senior when she was a freshman, but she doesn't quite remember his name.

As if he heard his name being mentioned, Kaede looked to their direction and met Sakura's gaze. She waved at him weakly and gave him a sheepish grin. He simply glared at her in return. _He's probably mad at me for even organizing a carnival. _Sakura mouthed a 'Sorry' to him and then she and Keijiro had to leave to return to their assignments.


	12. Chapter 12

Everything began to die down around three in the afternoon. Most of the customers had used up all their money; the clubs' cash boxes were overflowing and everyone was just tired. Some clubs began to pack up and clean up, but Kaede was still "talking" to Gori's younger sister, who'd managed to make ten baskets. _Well, what can you expect from the former captain's younger sister? _

Kaede did not look at her as she spoke. But he could see from the corner of his eye that Hanamichi and his gang were huddled up close to her trying to eavesdrop. Kaede was extremely bored. She asked similar questions to the other eight girls who managed to perfect the free throws given to them, "What's your favorite food?" To which he would reply, "Food."

"What do you dream about?" Not looking their way, he'd respond, "Stuff." _Why should he disclose things about himself to these girls?  
_"What's your type of girl?" His eyes would wander through the crowd for a bit, then he'd grunt and say, "Definitely not you."

Some girls even asked naughty things. One asked, "How big is yours?" Kaede recoiled at such talk. He didn't think girls could be such pervs. But he decided to be sassy about it. Smirking, he said, "Bigger than yours," implying that she was a man. That earned a laugh from the team members that guarded him and the girl stomped away from embarrassment. _Good riddance. _

"Do you _like _anyone?" came Gori's sister's question. Kaede was taken aback that he had to look at her to study where it was coming from. None of the other girls had asked him that. "I just don't want to be stuck in a delusion anymore." She continued, looking down to stare at her feet. Behind her Hanamichi deadpanned, but his eyes were intense, as if preparing for a fight.

_She likes me? _The realization made Kaede uncomfortable and he shifted in his seat. Hanamichi is head over heels for this girl. _And all the while...she likes...me? _That's why, even though they were clearly not equals in basketball, Hanamichi marked him a rival because he considered him competition for Gori's sister's affection?How could he not have seen this before?

"So, is there?" She whispered, her face red as a beet. Kaede was not sure what to say. He has never really thought of it. Basketball has always been his lady. "Is there...is there _someone_ that consumes your thoughts?" She asked again.

_Consumes? _Kaede's mind wandered to nights of staring at a card, contemplating whether to send a text or not. He felt a warmth spread through his face, and he cleared his throat and looked away.

"Sorry, Haruko-chan. But that's the end of your five minutes. Ready to take that photo?" Ayako said from below the platform. The girl shook her head and smiled, "No. It's okay Aya-tan. I don't need one." She said, then turning to Kaede she bowed, "Thank you for the closure." Kaede was not really sure what she was talking about, but he didn't bother to ask. She had already run off with her friends and Hanamichi's gang.

"Well, that's it for the day. Man, I'm tired." Hanamichi yawned, stretched and popped his joints.

"Good job, Sakuragi-kun. Your energy and enthusiasm was off the charts." Ayako smacked the redhead's back, "And you too, Rukawa-kun. You took a big one for the team. We are grateful."

"Hell, yeah, we are." Kaede felt an arm wrap around his neck. Riyota was clinging on to him like a chimp, grinning like an idiot. "New jackets for everyone!"

"Man, I wish we had that much money when I was in the team!" Mitsui Hisashi said. He was visiting to show his support for the team. Kaede has not seen much of him this year except for the occasional visits to practice and the occasional attendance in games. He moved to Tokyo to work and study and is often too busy to come by.

"You graduated too soon, Mit-chan!" Hanamichi laughed and Mitsui shook his head.

"We are so rich, if we make it to the Inter-high finals, we have enough money to stay at a comfortable hotel!" Riyota exclaimed, a big wide grin on his face. The other team members rejoiced, throwing fists in the air and high-fiving each other. _They better give me the best room._

-o-o-o-o-o-

Most of the clubs had already cleared their booths. Some of them went out to celebrate, to reward themselves for their hardwork and earnings. The basketball team decided to post-pone its celebrations until after the next game.

Much as he wanted to just go home after a long day, Kaede stayed behind. He found her talking with the band's vocalist right by their van. She had an electric guitar slung around her body and he appeared to be teaching her how to play.

They kept at it for a few minutes, until she finally gave up,"Well, I'll have to buy my own first." She said and handed him the instrument, "Let me know if you need any help learning." He said and she gave him a thumbs up.

"Got everything?" She called after he put the guitar in the van. The guy nodded and she smiled, "All right. Then I guess I'm done here. I'll see you on Monday for our evaluation." The guy saluted and Sakura began to walk away.

Kaede hoped he didn't look too creepy standing there waiting for her to finish. He feared she'd take it the wrong way. But he'd only really just gone out searching for her to make sure she wasn't hanging out with_ the_ jerkwad. She wasn't. But seeing her hang out with another jerkface wasn't any better.

His fears were put to rest when she noticed him and beamed, "Oi, Rukawa-kun." She waved and approached him. Her eyes went to the bike he had next to him, "Are you on your way home?" He nodded and they started to walk, walking his bike along with them. It was a brisk autumn day, perfect for a nice fall walk.

"Hey, you're not mad at me, are you?" She asked. When he looked at her, her face conveyed concern and worry. "For organizing an event that forced you to do what you just did today?"

_Silly girl. He mostly blames the crafty captain of the team. _Kaede smirked, "No."

Sakura let out a big breath, her hand meeting her chest, "Oh, good. I feel so relieved." Then she skipped forward, "So, how many girls got to take a picture with the ace of Shohoku?" She asked, amusement in her eyes. He shook his head.

"None? How about autographs?"  
"Two."  
"How many actually got to talk to you?"  
"Nine."

Sakura laughed, her hair billowing in the crisp autumn wind. "Man, you are popular. It must feel good to have that many women chase after you, huh, ace of Shohoku?"

Kaede shot her a look of incredulity. "They're all stupid and desperate flirts."  
"What were they asking you?" She asked, looking worried.  
"Stupid stuff. 'What is your favorite food', stuff like that."  
"What did you say?"  
"Food."  
She chortled, "Typical, sarcastic Rukawa."  
Kaede shot her a lopsided grin.

They were silent for a while, the carpet of leaves crunching below them as they walked. Sakura was staring into the distance at the setting sun, its rays shining on leaves of copper. "Ne, what is _yours_ favorite food?" Sakura said in English.

Kaede smirked, "Your."

"Huh?"

"You say 'your' not 'yours'." Ever since the beginning of the second term, Kaede has been helping her out with her English. And recently, their study sessions have become two-way in that he learns Math from her, and she learns English from him. It's really helped them both academically. He has been grasping more and more terms, and he said he felt pretty confident for the next exams. Sakura has also been trying really hard at learning the language and he thought now, he understood how it felt to be her when he shows improvement and willingness to learn.

"'Your' is a possessive adjective, like my, his, her our, their. 'Yours' is a possessive pronoun, like its, ours, hers, theirs...mine." Kaede cleared his throat, "You say 'your' this instance. One indication is it precedes a noun: food. For example, 'the car is yours' and 'this is your car.'"

"Oh, okay then." Sakura pumped her fist, "What is _your _favorite food?"

"Hmm...Sashimi...sukiyaki..." Kaede mustered quietly when Sakura's stomach growled loudly and they both stopped on their tracks. "Are you hungry, miss?" Kaede mocked as she turned a deep shade of red, laughing nervously, "I tried to grab something to eat earlier but Mao kept stopping me from getting anything from the Cooking club's booth." She scratched her head. Kaede pursed his lips and looked around, a food truck stood up ahead. "Would tempura do for now?"

A few minutes later, she swallowed the last of her twelve pieces of tempura. Kaede had three. "Ah, I'm so full!" she breathed after her last swallow, "One more serving, please!"

Kaede just about fell off his chair. He was holding back a smile, trying not to say anything about her enormous appetite. When she finally decided she was satisfied, they started for home again.

"Why are you walking so slow?" Kaede complained.  
"Will you calm down, I'm just full." She said. She walked hunched over herself with her arms clutched to her stomach. "Sorry, my stomach is just so heavy..." she groaned. Kaede rolled his eyes. He wanted to say something sassy about her appetite but instead he just mounted his bike. "Get on."

She looked up, confusion on her face. He gestured to the rear rack of the bike, but Sakura still played dumb. Kaede had to click his tongue in impatience before she scurried her butt on his bike. He made sure she held on before he pedaled. It was a little weird. He's never had anyone on his bike before.

The ride to her house was pleasant. The autumn breeze was cool and the changing colors were a beautiful sight. Kaede always loved autumn, even as a child. It wasn't too hot, nor too cold and the sound of crunching leaves is like music to his ears.

"The maple trees are most glorious in the fall." Sakura mused from behind him. Then he felt a weight on his back. When he turned his head to peek, she found her head leaning against him, fast asleep. A blush took over him at that moment. Besides that time she was giving him a sponge bath—which he doesn't remember very well, due to his high fever—this is the closest, most intimate he's ever been with a girl. Kaede was not quite sure how to go about it. He felt his heart race, but he forced himself to believe that it's just from cycling. _It's from exercising. It's from exercising. It's from exercising. Please let it be from exercising._

He stopped in front of the gate to the Ishihara home. Their house was looking dull compared to the last time he was here, that was seven months ago. There were no tulips, no blooming cherry blossom tree. The only thing that looked quite attractive from the gate was the wreath of twisted twigs adorned with acorns and maple leaves, which hung nicely on their door.

He peeled her arms off his waist and turned to wake her, "Ishihara-san." Sakura blinked at him, "Rukawa-kun? I'm home? I fell asleep?"

"You have the pig syndrome. You eat too much and then sleep afterward." Kaede said but she was too drowsy to come up with a clever response.

Sakura climbed off his bike and opened the gate, "Thank you for bringing me home, Rukawa-kun. I'll see you Monday." She yawned and waved. She glanced back at him before walking in the house, "Rukawa-kun," She looked like she was about to say something but instead she offered him a smile—a nice warm smile that complemented the softness in her eyes. Kaede's heart raced and fluttered and he felt his stomach tie up in knots. She waved one last time and closed the door behind her. And all he could think about was how he didn't want her to go.

_Crap. It's not from exercising. _


	13. Chapter 13

**The next few chapters will focus on character development. Please, R&R as usual.**

The month passed quickly. Days were becoming shorter and the crisp breezes of autumn slowly turned into the biting cold winds of winter. Students studied and slacked off, and the basketball team drew closer and closer to a second shot at the Inter-high games.

"The sentence structures in English are different from Japanese. Instead of subject-object-verb, they go subject-verb-object." Kaede explained. Sakura has been very grateful for all his help in her English. He has been a very good teacher to her, though not exactly the most patient one. He's yelled at her quite a few times when she could not understand how prepositions worked. It frustrated him, but she was never a linguist to begin with; Math has always been her strong suit. It upset her sometimes that he would yell or raise his voice at her, but at the same time she enjoyed seeing him talk so much, seeing this side of him. _Who would have known THE Rukawa Kaede knows English very well? _

"For example, umm...'My dog plays ball.' The dog is the subject, 'plays' would be the verb and ball would be the object." Kaede said, circling the words in her notebook. Sakura pursed her lips, "Well, what about this sentence, 'She is dancing,' Isn't 'dancing' also a verb?" She asked, pointing at a sentence in the same page. "In this case it's an object."

"Then where's the verb?"

"'Is' is a verb. It's called a linking verb. Linking verbs are: am, is, are—and in their past tense, was, were...there are other ones, but these are all you need to know for now."

Sakura stared at her notebook, staring at the English words. Sentence structures are easy but it's the different forms of the words that make it complicated. Sakura bit in the inside of her cheek, as she always does when she's confused or thinking really hard.

"Also, one way to identify the object is that it answers to the question,'who' or 'what.' So for example, 'My dog plays...' what? He plays ball. Or 'She is...' who? She is Sakura." Sakura thought about it, glancing back and forth between the pages of her notes. Then she snapped her fingers, "Oh, okay. That makes it easier. I think I get it...but I think I may have to memorize some more verbs."

"Yes, maybe the next time you decide to doodle mathematical equations on your leg, you can write verbs instead." Kaede smirked. Sakura looked at him suspiciously, _How'd he know she has that habit? _"You know more about me than I thought." She smiled. In an instant, Kaede's pale face evidently turned pink and he turned away from her. Sakura stifled a giggle. She thought it was endearing, she ought to embarrass him more often.

In the beginning she did not like Kaede at all. He was the sum of everything she despised: lazy, unambitious, cold, stubborn, selfish, egotistic and then she thought at one point that he was some perverted teenager. But again and again, over the course of the past several months, he proved her wrong.

She realized he's a prude: Kaede had a very difficult time studying the reproductive system with her that he blushed and stuttered and couldn't look at her straight the entire time. It was very difficult for both of them: Sakura was very shy about it and he wasn't making it any better. She tried her best to be professional but in the end she couldn't get herself to say the words out loud either. She would say, "phee-neshhh" and "vajee". Kaede, too, had his own way of censoring the words. Most of the time he'd say, "the thing" or "you know" or just click his tongue.

Once when he had to describe puberty, he couldn't say the word, "breasts" and in his frustration, accidentally pointed at her breasts to make his point. It made both of them blush so hard, they could not talk for a good ten minutes. It was even more embarrassing to Sakura who barely had breasts to begin with. He apologized profusely but when he tried to explain himself, it came out in a string of even more inappropriate words: "I'm sorry Ishihara-san, I didn't mean to do that. It's just that, I was so frustrated, I didn't want to say it and they were the first ones I saw—No! Not that I was looking—there was nothing to look at—I mean, not that there's _nothing _to look at per se, they're actually quite nice—and SHIT! Just kill me now!" He buried his face in his hands to hide his reddening face. It was extremely embarrassing for her then, but now that she thinks about it, the whole thing was actually quite funny. It was nice to see the coolest guy in school get all awkward.

_Kaede has so many surprises, _Sakura mused. She discovered he has a hidden skill in English and languages (Apparently, he knows some Spanish too). She learned just how hard he works for his ambitions, which is to be the number one basketball player in Japan, that almost every waking moment he spends playing basketball. That's how dedicated he is. She also learned that he is sensitive when it comes to matters of family. He always gets this somber look on his face when she talks about her brother and her mom. She also concluded that underneath that tough guy facade is a very caring and loyal guy. He helped her and the whole Juniors class at Tanabata; he took one for his team and helped them make money during the festival. _He is really something._

"I was really surprised how easily you defeated Kainan yesterday." Sakura said, knowing that talking about basketball always makes him forget the now. She was not very knowledgeable at sports. She did not follow any of the news or paid close attention to details (i.e. player names, height, year level, game play). But she's been trying for the sake of Kaede whom she realized truly values her input on the games."I kept hearing that they're supposed to very good, yet you won with a 12-point lead." She recalled how Kainan's number eleven got in a battle of words with Hanamichi after the game.

Kaede turned to face her: embarrassment forgotten, "They no longer have their star player, Maki, you see. The only ones left from their starting line-up last year are Monkey and Jin." Kaede said. Sakura raised her eyebrows and shook her head, "I'm sorry, Monkey?"

"Number eleven. The loud-mouthed idiot."

"Oh," Sakura laughed and Kaede continued, "Jin was our biggest threat, but you guard him well enough and he won't be able to make the three-point shots. They train hard, but sometimes, skill is innate." He winked at her. It took Sakura by surprise but maybe he just has something in his eye, "Well, one more and then the Inter-high games!" She pumped a fist in the air.

"Ne, you're playing Ryonan next, right?" Sakura paused to think, "Shohoku plays Ryonan next." She said in English, eliciting a smile from Kaede, "Good job. And yes, we are." Sakura did not miss the excitement in his tone, "Looking forward to it, huh?"

"It's my last chance to beat my rival, Sendoh." Kaede smacked his fist against his palm, excitement and determination in his face.

"Sendoh Akira? I've heard he's become the ace of Ryonan." Sakura mused, "He was my upperclassman, you know? Back at Kitazawagakuen."

Kaede looked stupefied, "You went to the same Junior High...Isn't Kitazawagakuen in Tokyo?"

Sakura nodded. She realized it had been a mistake to bring it up. She was treading on delicate and sensitive ground...and she's not ready to talk about it. She has to close the topic quickly, "It's not like I knew him very well or anything. I probably spoke to him three, four times the entire time I was there."

"What did you talk about?" Kaede growled. The topic wasn't dropped, but at least he's focusing on the unimportant details.

Sakura paused to think, "Well, once, he caught a fish for my group during a school trip. We were camping, you see, and could not catch any for dinner, and he gave us some of the ones he caught. That was really nice of him, the fish was deli—"

"What about the second time?" Kaede interrupted.

"Eh? Um...Let's see. I don't remember very much...Oh, once he invited me to a basketball game."

"Did you go?" Kaede barked. _What is he getting so worked up on?_

"No, I didn't. I had stuff to do."

Kaede leaned back on his chair and the frown on his face relaxed a bit. "What about the third time?"

_He's still at it? _"Rukawa-kuuun, I don't remember all of it. Let's just do Math now, okay?" Sakura groaned, _can't he just drop it? _The deep frown on his face made a comeback, "No. You have to remember!" He exclaimed, banging a fist on the table. Sakura, in return, yelled back, "Why?!" She does not respond well to shouting AT ALL.

"Y-you...y-you just have to." Kaede hissed. Sakura puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms over her chest. For his satisfaction, she'll try. _Maybe it's some sort of basketball strategy or something._ Sakura thought hard while Kaede stared at her with much anticipation on his face. Sakura's face scrunched up, _darn it, why can't I remember? My memory is so bad._

Sakura shook her head, "Rukawa-kuuun, I can't remember." Kaede huffed in response and he looked away, disappointment in his face. Sakura didn't like seeing him upset or disappointed—whatever his reasons are for acting like this.

"I do remember him to be nice and friendly." She began, hoping to ease his upset. "One time, I was part of a school play as a servant girl. My role was to get beaten up but the girl playing my master was too harsh. She slapped me too hard on several rehearsals. Sempai had been the one to notice and get her out of the role. He spoke with the producers of the play and got her replaced. He played a footman, and for awhile that was his nickname in the entire school, 'Footman'. I never knew he was into basketball though...oh wait, Chisa might have mentioned it once..." Sakura scratched her head, "Mou, I don't remember. I don't retain unimportant things."

Kaede looked like he's calmed down, but he looked concerned about something. "Will you be cheering for him, this weekend?"

"Eh? Why would I? I have you!"

Kaede finally smiled, "Good. Because I'm going to beat him this time."


	14. Chapter 14

**I am quite aware that the timeline is off. I planned for only one basketball season for their school year, more for my convenience than anything else. I'm not adept at writing action scenes, so I opted to limit such scenes by rearranging the timeline. They are playing only one basketball season that takes up the entire school year. This is how it's done where I'm from: the national games do not take place until the third term. I hope these changes do not frustrate anyone. This is my longest chapter so far, I hope you don't mind. As usual, I would like to hear your feedback. Thanks.**

The game was held on a Sunday. With Uozumi and Ikegami gone, they weren't as powerful a team as they used to. But they were still difficult: Sendoh, of course was still there and they had Fukuda and Koshino so they still have strong offense.

The game was neck and neck. Shohoku was currently behind by four points. Gori thought Shohoku ought to play with their teamwork, take advantage of Riyota and Kaede's swiftness, Hanamichi's rebounds, double the passes, and confuse Ryonan's defense. And that is exactly what they did. He, Satoru, Riyota, Hanamichi and the new guy Aoi passed the ball around like a hot potato.

Kaede was being guarded by, of course, Sendoh, as he watched Riyota dribble the ball towards their basket. He broke free from Sendoh's defense and received Riyota's pass. Then he ran towards the hoop to fake a lay-up and passed the ball to the unguarded Aoi who stood at the three-point line. His jumpshot went in and Ryonan only led by one point now.

Kaede was never a passer. But Coach Anzai and Sendoh himself told him that these are skills that he needed to improve on as it is all part of being a good basketball player. At first it had been hard for him to see it that way, even more so to take advice from his greatest rival. Kaede had always thought the best way to get ahead was if he did it all himself. But later on, he realized that acknowledging the help of his teammates boosts the morale of the whole team, strengthening the team's cooperation and propelling them forwards. That pivotal moment was during the Sannoh game last year when he passed the ball to Hanamichi in the last few seconds and they won. He prefers to look at it as him pulling the team up, for that's what a true basketball champ does: to lead his team to victory.

"Why didn't you pass it to me?" Hanamichi said as they ran to the other side of the court.

"_Do'ahu_. You have two dudes guarding you."

Hanamichi cussed. "Can't get them off me. But I'll try something. Pass it to me then." He whispered, then ran off.

It's almost as if someone hits the pause button on their bickering whenever there is a game. For Kaede and Hanamichi to set aside minor grievances speaks much of their determination to win that they are willing to work together. Ayako thinks it's funny. Kaede thought perhaps it's their mutual mistrust of each other and at the same time their mutual respect for each other's capabilities that makes the two vice-captains mesh well together on court.

Shohoku was on defense when Satoru managed to steal the ball from Ryonan. He passed it to Riyota who ran back to Shohoku court with two Ryonan guards at his tail. Sendoh followed closely behind Kaede; and Fukuda and Koshino, who were supposed to guard Hanamichi, ran up ahead to guard the hoop.

Kaede knew Riyota would pass the ball to him and found himself recalling what Sakura taught him on probabilities. He has two choices: he could make a jumpshot, but Sendoh would by then catch up with him or he could make a lay-up, but he questioned his chances with the two dudes up ahead. In his peripheral vision, Kaede could see Hanamichi running up—his third choice. As they approached the hoop, Riyota swiftly passed the ball to Kaede and he began for a lay-up. When Fukuda and Koshino moved to guard him, he made an underhand pass to Hanamichi who then fiercely dunked the ball. The crowd went wild. Shohoku was in the lead now and the buzzer rang, signaling the end of the third quarter.

As he walked back to the bench, Sendoh came up to him, "You've gotten good, Rukawa. How are you doing this? You're so unpredictable and I can't catch up to you anymore." Kaede was sure Sendoh was pulling his leg. The stupid smile on his face confirmed that. _He's using flattery to make me complacent, that's all it is. _

"Mathematics." Kaede said flatly. Sendoh looked confused. Last year, ignorant Kaede arrogantly told Sendoh that basketball was _not _Mathematics. But Kaede has learned so many things this year about how to integrate Math to basketball to better increase his chances of scoring—Sakura called it "shot selection*". They've gone through it quite extensively the past months and he employed the strategy again and again in the past games and it proved to be very useful. He smiled in satisfaction at Sendoh's befuddled face and walked up to his team's bench.

Hanamichi stood tall and proud, bragging to everybody about his dunk. He saw Kaede approach and fist-bumped him and he high-fived Riyota and Ayako. The Shohoku team gave their usual round of praises for their teamwork. Gori's sister passed them all towels and Kaede went to grab his water bottle.

"Good job, team." Gori said. Even though he's already in college, Gori has volunteered to be the team's assistant coach. Kaede has always wondered if it's because he can't let go of his glory days. Last year was the only time Shohoku made it to the Inter-high games. Once a team of no consequence, now the number one team in Japan. The Shohoku basketball team is Gori's pride, and perhaps that's why he stays—the team is the treasure he obsesses about. It seems very clear to Kaede that Gori aims to keep them on top and get them back in the national games.

The Inter-high games had been one of the most glorious days in Kaede's basketball life. They managed to beat Sannoh, the number one team in Japan and took over the title. But now, there is plenty of doubt about the team making it to the Inter-high without Gori and Mitsui. Kaede resolved in the beginning of the year that he will get Shohoku into the Inter-high games. The team did not lose an arm and a leg from losing their center and shooting guard because they still have him, the Super Rookie, the ace of Shohoku and member of the All-Japan basketball team. He will beat Sendoh and every team's ace out there so Shohoku can keep its title and then he, Rukawa Kaede will be _the_ number one player in Japan.

Kaede stood to get some more water from the jug. As he was filling up his water bottle, listening to Gori's instructions on passes and making plenty of alley-ups, his attention was caught by the sight of a panda in the crowd: Sakura's shirt. _That girl. _He smiled.

"Got that, Rukawa?" Gori said. Kaede didn't know what he was talking about but he nodded anyway.

When the fourth quarter began, Yasuharu (who replaced Satoru) and Riyota were each able to make two more points for the team, and Ryonan managed another three points; Shohoku led by two points. The ball was on Ryonan's court and Sendoh, as the point guard was dilly-dallying, strategizing with his team as Kaede marked him.

"So tell me, where did you learn all this 'Mathematics' from?" Sendoh said as he dribbled the ball slowly, getting warmed up for an attack. He wasn't even thinking about it—almost by reflex, Kaede briefly glanced at Sakura in the crowd who was leaning forward with two hands clasped together. Sendoh followed his gaze, and there was surprise in his face, "Ichihana?" Sendoh looked surprised.

Kaede felt a little bothered when he realized that Sendoh remembered her—though not quite, seeing as he didn't get her name right. He was the same way with Sawakita. But even so, Sakura must have impacted his life quite a bit for him to remember her at all. It didn't sit well with Kaede. Not knowing the true nature of their relationship frustrated him and out of impulse he made a sloppy steal and Sendoh managed to rush to the hoop to make a shot. The game is now a tie.

Sendoh started running back to Shohoku court and as he passed Kaede, he smiled, "You look at her too much."

_What? I don't. _Kaede glanced at her again. _Shit, I do. _

"Rukawa!" He turned just in time to catch Riyota's pass and made a quick attack for a shot, skillfully dribbling and swerving Sendoh and Koshino and successfully dunking the ball. High-pitched squeals rang in the air, "L-O-V-E RU-KA-WA!" Went the RFC, but his first instinct was to look to Sakura's direction. She had a big smile on her face as she clapped along with the crowd. _Shit, shit, I do look at her too much. _Kaede glanced back at Sendoh who had both eyebrows raised and a small smile on his face to make an I-told-you-so look. _Shit, he's identified a weakness._

The whistle blew when Hanamichi fouled Fukuda. "What? I barely touched him!"  
Fukuda raised his arm, "Yeah, that red mark sort of just appeared by itself."

Fukuda got one shot in for his team. The second shot, Hanamichi took the rebound and passed it to Riyota who then passed it to Kaede. Kaede ran back to Shohoku court but was blocked by Sendoh. _Damn the guy and his defenses._

Kaede paused to think which route to take and which one has the highest probability of scoring perfectly. Sendoh smirked, "Uh-oh, looks like you're not the only one interested." He was looking towards Sakura's direction. _Does he mean himself? _Kaede did not want to listen, but impulse took over him, he glanced to her and saw that jerkwad was sitting next to her and she was talking animatedly to him. Kaede felt something grip his chest, its hold was tight and he felt queasy in his stomach.

"Better hurry up or you lose." Sendoh said and stole the ball. The crowd cheered, Ryonan and Shohoku rushed back to Ryonan's court.

_Shit._

Kaede hated losing. When he came to, he found Sendoh about to make a jumpshot. In Kaede's fury, he rushed in front of Ryonan's ace and stuffed the shot powerfully. The sound of palm meeting basketball resonated throughout the arena. He stole the ball, ran back to Shohoku's court and made a fierce dunk that sent the RFC wild, "L-O-V-E RU-KA-WA!"

Yeah, Sendoh is wrong. He's not going to let _her_ be a weakness.

For the rest of the quarter, Kaede ignored Gori's instructions and went on a shooting spree, making all the shots himself. It drove Hanamichi mad, "What the heck is wrong with you?! Why aren't you passing?!" He had no reason to be, Kaede was scoring like crazy, giving Shohoku a lead of 10 points.

"Shut up, _do'ahu_. Just pass me the ball, alright?" Kaede shot back. Hanamichi looked like he was about to blow up but Riyota stopped him, "Just do it, Sakuragi. If we're gaining points, there's nothing to complain about." Then Riyota met Kaede's gaze, "Though, Rukawa, whatever it is that has gotten into you, don't let it be at the expense of the team."

_What HAS gotten into him? _Kaede realizes that he is being completely irrational. He does have a record for being a slave to his impulses: beating anyone that wakes him no matter who they are and calling people 'idiots' to their faces. But he has always been wiser on court—always thinking, strategizing, planning...He'd kept a clear head all day so that he can come up with the best plays to defeat Sendoh. But his judgment is now clouded by anger and by the impulse to beat someone, to outdo him and win _her_ undivided attention. He turned to her in the crowd and found her looking back at him, she gave him a small, shy wave. Kaede wasn't sure if it made him feel better or angrier. He turned and carried on with the game.

He was on fire. He channeled all that anger into blocks, stuffs, rebounds, three-point shots and ferocious dunks. He had no strategy. It was all impulse and Sendoh could no longer predict what he was going to do next. The game ended with a 14-point lead, qualifying Shohoku for the national championships. Sendoh must have realized it was wrong to anger him. Kaede glared at Ryonan's captain, who only smiled and congratulated him, "We'll beat Kainan and we'll see you in the nationals." He said but Kaede could not find it in him to care right now.

The Shohoku team cheered, jumping and high-fiving each other. But they all recognized the dark, angry vibe the Super Rookie exuded and avoided speaking to him, except for Gori, the only one unperturbed by Kaede's tempers. "You did well." He began as Kaede sat on the bench to drink water, ignoring the commotion going on around him. "But were you so angry with them that you had to show off?" Kaede did not respond and instead glanced at her direction, only to find she was no longer there. She'd left with _him._

_Better hurry up or you lose. _

Gori sighed, "I'll let this slide today. But you need to control yourself next time. You cannot let your rivalries take control. Listen. Pass. Work with the team. Basketball is not a one-man game. Many things in life aren't one-man games. And there's nothing worse than letting your impulses take over in basketball and in the real world. Heed this, Rukawa, or this could be your downfall."

-o-o-o-o-o-

Sakura, Chisa and Keijiro walked in a lovely coffee shop and found Daiki sitting in a corner booth. Daiki is Chisa's college boyfriend. They have been dating for over two years now but they hardly get to see each other due to the distance, since he studies in Tokyo.

_No wonder she was so insistent on leaving the game early, it's because Daiki's in town. _She would have wanted to at least praise and congratulate Kaede. This is big for them after all, Shohoku is going to the nationals for the second time! She'll have to congratulate him later.

"Daiki-kun!" Chisa's face spelled joy when she saw her love. She ran to him and showered him with kisses. It made Sakura blush witnessing the scene. Daiki is the bestfriend of Chisa's older brother. Sakura met him so many times before in the Ogi household. Ever since they were younger, Daiki had always been interested in Chisa. At first Sakura did not approve of him, being older and all, and she did not hide her disagreement. This led Daiki to the perception of her being über domineering. But now, they both have come to terms with it. Sakura thought it was sweet that he loves her bestfriend though at times they can be a little too much and Daiki just thinks Sakura is crazy and difficult. The old resentments turned into a vehicle for understanding and they eventually became friends—not very good ones, but they are able to stand each other.

"You didn't tell me you were coming!" Chisa baby-talked.

"I wanted to surprise you." Daiki chuckled and scooted in his seat so Chisa can sit next to him and Sakura and Keijiro sat across from them.

"Aw, that is so sweet." Chisa planted another big kiss on Daiki's cheek. Sakura had to turn away from embarrassment.

After Chisa introduced Daiki and Keijiro, the waitress came by and they all ordered some hot tea to keep warm. While Sakura asked for some pastries, Daiki spoke, "Where were you guys before you came over here?"  
"Oh, we were watching a basketball game." Chisa said, all googly-eyes over Daiki.

Daiki looked surprised, "I didn't know you were into basketball," he said, addressing the group. "We're not." Keijiro said. "But Sakura insisted we support our school's team." Daiki turned to Sakura to give her an 'I'm-proud-of-you-smile'. _Sakura truly has come to enjoy the sport. _"Why not? It will be good for Shohoku if the team gets into the Inter-high games again this year." Sakura said, smiling brightly when her pastries arrived.

Keijiro rolled his eyes, "Sports are just so overrated and dumb. People should invest more on sharpening the mind rather than building muscles." Sakura and Chisa froze. _Keijiro-kun why can't you just hold your tongue? _Daiki is a soccer player. His college education is pretty much paid for by his football scholarship. Daiki's smile went stale and a vein looked like it was about to pop out of his head, "Is that so? Can't we do both?" He said in between clenched teeth. _Rukawa-kun does it, _she injected in her mind, thinking appreciatively of his improvements.

"Sports make us predatory. It's all about competition. The strong survive, the weak lose. It's like a caste system and should be done away with." Keijiro said and sipped his tea. He always takes pride in his opinions, believing them to be right all the time. Chisa was so appalled at the statement, her jaw dropped open and stayed open.

Fortunately, Daiki seemed to have calmed down. He was a Psychology major, and Sakura could tell by the way he was staring at Keijiro that he was trying to read through the blonde's behaviors. "Actually, research says that sports have plenty of benefits—including increased educational and occupational aspirations." Daiki asserted, dropping sugar cubes in his tea with a smug smile on his face. Keijiro only raised his eyebrow at him in response.

The air was so tense that Sakura thought she had to butt in. Before Keijiro could say anything, she spoke, "That is so true!" She dropped a fist on her palm, then turned to Daiki, "Rukawa-kun, the star player of the Shohoku basketball team, has very big dreams about becoming the number one player in Japan." She exclaimed and Daiki looked pleased that she backed him up on this one.

"That is hardly impressive." Keijiro commented, placing his tea cup down. "What difference does that make to this chaotic world?"  
"Judge the book when you've read it." Daiki shrugged. "But I'm curious, surely your prejudice for sports is rooted somewhere?"

Keijiro gulped and then frowned and then his jaw tightened. _He does have his reasons. _Sakura realized but he would not speak of it, she can see. She can only speculate that he must have had a bad experience with it before. She felt bad for him, for whatever it is. But she also can't shake the ridiculous notion of a caste system, as he says.

Kaede himself has never used his reputation on court to lord it over everyone else. It's the people themselves that put him on a pedestal and the only reason he gets into fights is because people pick on him. Kaede just minds his own business. He avoids drama. He just pursues his own goals—clever, determined, goal-oriented. Despite his victories, he doesn't even bask in the attention of his fans club. His feet has remained firmly planted on the ground. Kaede could not care less about status, that's just how he is. This chaotic world needs people like him..._He's...rather extraordinary._

Ever reliable at easing tensions, Chisa changed the topic, "Anyway, Daiki-kuuun. What brings you back here besides visiting your pretty girl?" Chisa giggled, clinging even closer to Daiki's arm. Daiki scrunched up his nose, his usual indication of his adoration for her. "My younger brother is actually turning ten tomorrow. He's into karate-do," He paused to glance quickly at Keijiro, who avoided his gaze, "and has a match tomorrow. I just wanted to be there to support him."

"That is wonderful! You are such a good older brother!" Chisa squealed and giggled and the two started their usual round of baby talk but Sakura was too distracted to be disgusted by it. In her mind, she had already become too occupied wondering about when Kaede's birthday was.

***The Shot Selection bit is based on a research study done by Brian Skinner, a graduate student on theoretical physics from the University of Minnesota. **


	15. Chapter 15

She didn't see him all week. When she greeted him "Congratulations" via e-mail, he did not respond. He messaged him again and again asking where he was and still he was silent.

The second term was drawing to a close, Kaede did not show up to any of their study sessions during exam week and she wondered if he was sick again. But then she saw him in the hall, when she called his name he ignored her—not really surprising, but Sakura could feel that something was wrong. Before, he would at least glance her way; today, he acted as if she was a ghost.

She was heading out to lunch with Chisa when she encountered Ayako and Riyota in the hall, "Hello, Aya-sempai, Miyagi-sempai. I was—"

"Sakura-chan!" The lovebirds chorused, they both looked very happy and excited. Of course, the euphoria from last Sunday's game can not fade that easily. "Thank you, thank you. The team owes you." Ayako dipped her head slightly in gratitude. Sakura looked down, she was already a few inches taller than both of them and to have an upperclassman bow to her was weird.

Sakura blinked, "Huh? What?"  
Riyota smiled, "For helping Rukawa pass. Akagi-sempai is beyond pleased that he passed all his tests."  
"Oh, he did? Wow, I didn't know." _He didn't tell me.  
_

"I doubted you before, but now I'm convinced you are a good for him." Ayako laid a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "We hope you can continue to study with him. Akagi-sempai is very keen on getting the players to excel more academically."

"Yeah, he always says, 'It's for their future.'" Riyota said, in his best impersonation of the assistant coach. Ayako giggled at his antics and turned back to her, "So, we hope that you can still find time from your busy schedule to tutor him."

Sakura nodded, "I am more than willing to help Rukawa-kun out. It has been very fulfilling for me to see him improve. But where is he? Why haven't I seen him in a week?"Ayako and Riyota exchanged confused looks.

"Maybe the fox is just not feline it!" Chisa interjected, then she laughed hard. Sometimes, Sakura just wants to hide under a rock whenever Chisa makes bad jokes like that. Foxes aren't even feline. Chisa frowned when no one else laughed with her, "Oh, come on, it's funny!"

Ayako deadpanned, "I think foxes are canine."  
Chisa gasped, "They are?"  
Riyota gave her a sheepish smile and nodded.  
"Oh, then nevermind." Chisa sulked.

"Anyway, what do you mean you have not seen him? He's been coming to practice all week saying you let him go early because you have a student council meeting to go to." Ayako's brows wrinkled. _What? _"But...I never..." Sakura paused to gather her thoughts, _why would he lie?_

"You mean to say he's been lying all week?" Riyota growled.  
"We believed him too, seeing as you two have been very consistent." Ayako mustered.  
"Oh, he's going to get it bad, that is just disrespect to me!" Riyota seethed while Ayako struggled to calm him down. "I'll talk to him, Sakura. He won't be missing it again next term," she said.

"No, Aya-tan, I'll talk to him. Do you know where I might be able to find him right now?" _Something's up with him and she's going to get to the bottom of it._

-o-o-o-o-o-

She skipped lunch and stomped her way up the school rooftop where they said she'd find him. And sure enough he was there, laying in the middle of the grounds, sleeping without a care of the cold. When Sakura approached, she saw that he had a kitten sleeping on his chest. It looked quite adorable but she was too furious to let herself be overcome by fuzz. She put on her best angry face and prepared for a battle of words.

"Oi, Rukawa-kun!" she shouted and his eyes cracked open. When he saw her, he did not say anything.

"Why have you been lying to Miyagi-sempai and Aya-sempai?"

Kaede remained silent and simply turned on his side away from her, cradling the kitten in his arms like how a kid would with a teddy bear. His silence infuriated Sakura even more. "Rukawa-kun, answer me." She exclaimed, angrily staring at his back. She realized then that his indifference hurt. Sakura knelt next to him, the cold tiles penetrating through her tights but she did not care. She pulled back his shoulder to have him face her, "Answer me."

Kaede did not resist. He faced her and for a moment she was afraid. His face conveyed impatience, annoyance, anger. It was as if a fire blazed in his eyes...She's seen his frowns so many times before, but for some reason, this one hurt, and even more so when she did not understand where it was coming from.

"Why?" his voice was louder than it normally was. It scared the kitten and it ran off to hide behind a wall. They both watched it for a second then he turned back to her, "Why does it matter?" Kaede glared at her, a piercing gaze, that made her feel like she was being skinned alive.

"W-what do you mean?" Sakura's voice trembled and she recognized her tough facade was beginning to falter. Kaede got up and supported himself with his elbows,"Why does it matter? I passed my tests, you don't have to tutor me anymore. You can just focus on your council."

Sakura did not understand. _They were doing fine, weren't they? Where is all this coming from? _She searched for answers on Kaede's face but all she saw was anger and resentment, "It matters, of course. Y-you have to keep studying so you can maintain it." She argued, emphatically. Kaede hissed in response, "What do _you _care if I pass or not? There are other things that clearly warrant more of your attention, just do that."

Sakura was taken aback, _what is he saying? _She was so confused and frustrated, she pushed back the tears that were beginning to well up in her eyes, "Of course I care, Rukawa-kun. I care about many things but I also care about your schoolwork, about your team, I care about you!" Sakura paused, the worry running deep in her eyes. Her words hung in the air for a while and neither of them spoke.

Sakura had her head bowed. Maybe she needs to say something more? Maybe he needed to know how important the sessions were to her too. In words barely above a whisper, she said, "I...like studying with Rukawa-kun."

They sat in silence for a little longer, amid the cold. Sakura dropped her head lower to hide her red face behind her bangs. Immediately, she regretted revealing too much information about her inner sentiments. It made her feel very vulnerable and weak and hurt.

_Rukawa-kun's a friend..._He can be rude, he can be a really big jerk but she enjoyed spending time with him, immensely so—whether that be in silence or in long conversations about Math, English, videogames and everything under the sun. She didn't want to _not_ see him. Kaede is..._a very dear friend._

-o-o-o-o-o-

Kaede pushed himself up to sit cross-legged on the cold ground. Her words deeply moved him but there was still that unanswered question he had that runs through his head all day, "And what about Honda?" Sakura looked up, and he could see that her eyes were moist, "Keijiro-kun? What about him?"

"Wouldn't he mind if we study together?"  
She blinked, "Why would he mind?"

Kaede shrugged and looked away, "Aren't you guys _dating_?" He'd reached the assumption last week when he realized he did not really know if she was dating anyone, and she was always with jerkwad...

Kaede recalled overhearing a conversation Hanamichi had with his gang long ago which arose because they were urging him to confess to Gori's sister, but his 50 rejections made him fearful of facing another one, so he wanted to try a subtle approach: "There are only two reasons why a guy hangs out with a girl: either he likes her or he's gay. Tell Haruko-chan that, maybe she'll be able to decipher the meaning in between."

Straight or gay? He's seen the way jerkwad looks at Sakura which tells Kaede that Keijiro is the former. So are jerkwad and Sakura together? Did Sakura like jerkwad? The thought stung but he resolved to avoid her since then so that he can also avoid getting in a complicated situation that will only cause him emotional turmoil. Yet the past week was just as turbulent as it could have been, with nights of staring at a card and having inappropriate dreams.

Sakura's face turned from a look of confusion to a deep frown, "Whatever rumors you heard, they've never been true." She rubbed her eyes with her sleeve, "He's only a friend and he's my vice-president. He will not mind who I study with, I assure you that. But even if he does, it doesn't matter. He has no say in it."

Kaede paused to let her words sink in. _He's only a friend and his opinion did not matter to her..._The weight that he carried in his chest all week vanished. _He's not even a threat after all. _Kaede felt his spirits soar and he sighed in relief. When he turned his head to face her, he beheld big eyes full of concern, they were purple from the reflection of her scarf. For a while they just looked at each other in silence, each trying to figure out what the other was thinking.

Sakura's face was red from the cold and their breaths met in thin clouds of fog. He felt an urge to touch her or to be touched by her but he wrestled with it. _Don't act on your impulses, Gori said_. And he will not. He will not be a man of irrational sense.

Sakura looked away finally when the little kitten from earlier jumped on her lap, "Oh, hello." She smiled and held the little black ball of fur in her hands. "Where did you find it?" She asked, lifting the kitten to her eye level. It hung helplessly in her hands.

"It was stuck in the tree outside my classroom window." He had to lure it with a Pocky stick to get it to walk the branch to the window sill.  
Sakura giggled when the kitten yawned, "So you hate bears but you like cats?"  
Kaede shrugged in response. Sakura placed the kitten down and it crawled up Kaede's lap.

"Are you going to keep it?"  
"Maybe."

They watched the kitten lie on its back on Kaede's lap and he began rubbing its belly with one gloved finger. The little thing purred, eliciting an "Aww" from Sakura.

It was nice to just have her around. It has become apparent to Kaede that he _really_ liked her company—more than he's supposed to—and the fluttering butterflies in his stomach when she came closer to pet the kitten's head was a big indication of what he truly felt.

"Ne," Sakura began, "Don't bail on me like that anymore." She paused to lick her lips, "I mean, aren't we friends after all?"

They are friends. But Kaede can't shake the feeling of wanting more...like, touching and...His eyes traveled to her wet, red lips..._doing things friends don't normally do...Shit. Don't be impulsive, stupid. _Kaede hated the thoughts that ran through his head right now. It's all wishful thinking—selfish and improbable.

He looked up to face her. Her eyes were soft and her smile gentle. To her, he is a friend, but to him she means so much more than that. He does not know when it all began. All he knows is that he's glad they met, glad that Riyota's policy exists, glad he sucked at Math, glad that he's improving in Math and she _still_ wants to study with him, basically, just glad that Providence led him to her.

"Sakura," he began, the surprise on her face for his use of her first name killed the words in his throat. Kaede hissed, frustrated at his own lack of eloquence. He did not articulate his thoughts and emotions well. He has always been reserved and guarded and more of an actions-speak-louder-than-words type of person. And this...with her...it was different than anything he's ever felt or known. It was new and yet it ran deep. And despite his reservations, he wanted to express somehow that he wanted her to stay with him and be with him.

Kaede reached inside his pocket and grabbed a pen. He uncapped it and grabbed Sakura's hand. She did not protest, simply waiting to see what he was going to do. He shoved up her sleeve and her glove and on her wrist he wrote, 'Kaede's,' (the Kanji of his name with an 's next to it) when she read it, she smiled.

The snow fell that day.


	16. Chapter 16

**Giving the characters some more dimension.**

_Let's see...milk, noodles, rice, soy sauce..._Kaede ticked off the items from his grocery list. The holidays have begun and there won't be very many open stores to eat at so he'll have to cook for himself again. Kaede groaned—he's a terrible cook, and too lazy to invest so much time on what to eat—time he would rather spend actually eating and playing basketball. What a way to spend the holidays, grubbing on some instant ramen. If he's lucky, perhaps a restaurant will be open then and he could have a feast of his own—take out, of course, since he had no intention of enduring a night of sitting alone while everyone else is celebrating with friends and family.

Kaede paid for his purchase and started bagging the items. Outside the store's window, the snow continued to fall. It's been snowing non-stop since the last day of the second term. He doesn't mind the cold, but the snow on the ground is a great inconvenience for him whose method of transportation is his bicycle.

On the way home, Kaede rode slowly. He's had many accidents before from falling asleep while riding but to land on ice would be even less pleasant. Kaede passed a few shops, some crowded, some not so much, some took an early holiday and already closed...A glimpse of Sakura from the corner of his eye almost sent Kaede crashing into a parked car. But thanks to his reflexes, he managed to brake just in time. He sighed in relief and turned back.

It was her alright. But it was not her _her. _It was a poster of her, hung up on the window of what looks like a dog shelter. The poster featured her, all made up. Her big eyes looked even bigger in this picture and her hair was slightly curled. She was happily hugging a dog with a ribbon around its neck and on the bottom it said, "Give Love: Adopt a dog this Christmas!"

_Why would she be here? _Kaede craned his neck to try to catch a glimpse of what's inside. It didn't really give him the information he wanted, so he dismounted his bike and parked it right by the door.

Kaede stepped inside, he's never been to a shelter before. The front room reminded him of a hospital lobby. He heard barking from behind a door up ahead and wondered just how many dogs were in there and what kinds they were. An older lady stood behind the counter and she smiled brightly at him, "Happy Holidays!" she greeted, "How may I help you?"

"I just have a question." Kaede paused to point at the poster, "The girl, she...what is...why..." He couldn't get his words straight without sounding like a creeper.

"Oh, Sakura." The lady snapped her fingers and smiled, "She is one of our volunteers. Such a nice girl." Kaede was astonished. He didn't know that. "Do you know her?" The lady asked and Kaede nodded, "She's my friend. We go to the same school." He said fondly, "But I didn't know this about her."

"She's not very open, isn't she?" The lady shot him a sympathetic grin, "But she's very vocal about animal adoption. For two years, she helped out in the back, taking care of the dogs, and sometimes the cats that come in. But we thought we could giver her a new assignment, given that her busy schedule doesn't allow her to come down here that often anymore, we decided she could be like an ambassador for the shelter. With her passion for the cause and her looks, you certainly can't say no to that face, am I right?" The lady grinned and snickered at Kaede and he felt his face burn.

"Several dogs already got adopted since that poster was put up. What about you? Interested?" She smiled. Kaede shook his head, "I just adopted a kitten." The lady's face conveyed confusion. It must be really odd for some people to hear of a tall young man adopting a kitten. "Well," The lady seemed to have recovered from the initial shock and clapped her hands, "Good for you. These innocent creatures all need homes."

Kaede nodded and bid her a happy holidays. On the way home, he thought about Sakura and how she is so unpredictable. He knew she had a thing about pandas, but he didn't think that she had a soft spot for all kinds of animals in general. It's nice, though he did feel a little concerned about the attention she'll be getting from people. Kaede wondered what other secrets she has, and hoped that he becomes someone special enough to her to get her to open up and talk.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Christmas Eve. Cold. Quiet. Lonely. In the distance, the sound of merriment, laughter, bells and the clinking of glasses.

"Are you alone?"  
"I am."  
"Why didn't you go to Sapporo and visit your Obasan?"  
"I didn't want to go up there."  
"But now, you're alone."  
"I'm okay."  
"Are you sure?"  
"It's alright. I have Sancho."  
"Do you have anything to eat?"  
"I ordered pizza and cake."  
"Not much of a Christmas dinner. But don't get fat now."  
Kaede chuckled. He exercises, how can he get fat.  
"What do you want for Christmas?"  
_Something that can't be bought.  
_"Basketball shoes, I guess."  
"Same size?"  
"Yeah."  
"Well, we got to go."  
"Alright, Merry Christmas."  
"Merry Christmas, darling. Love you."  
"Yeah, love you both too. Bye."

They were kind and extremely generous though they are always busy. Kaede was always alone growing up so he's used to it. But he's always cherished the times they were all able to be together. Few as they were, they have been his most vivid memories growing up.

Kaede sighed, trying not to think of his situation. He stuffed a slice of pizza in his mouth and popped Metal Gear Solid in his PS3. He settled on the couch, cross-legged, and Sancho, his new kitten, crawled on to his lap and slept. He spent Christmas Eve that way, playing video games.

Before he knew it, three hours had passed and he'd eaten the entire pizza and half the cake. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was 45 minutes til midnight. Kaede thought he'd turn in: no use in staying up to welcome the 25th.

Kaede saved his game and turned it off. He took a quick bath and changed into his pajamas. He then picked up a book from the shelf right next to his nightstand and plopped on his bed to begin reading. _Coriolanus, _his favorite, and just one of the English classics his father used to pressure him to finish within a week. Back then, he'd protested so much, but after awhile, he'd come to enjoy these stories. Others grew up reading fairy tales, Kaede grew up reading the works of literary geniuses.

His phone beeped from his nightstand and Kaede checked it out. He does not get messages often. There are very few people who know his contact information—Obasan, Gori, Ayako, Riyota. But this one is from Sakura. He opened the message and saw an attached picture of her in a Santa hat, with a goofy grin on her face, holding up her fingers for a peace sign, and in the background, a Christmas tree. The message said, "Merry Christmas!"

She told him last week at the rooftop that she was spending Christmas with her relatives in Osaka. When she realized he was going to be spending Christmas alone, she invited him to go with her family. While he appreciated the gesture, he thought it would be very awkward, so he refused, saying he'd made plans. It was a lie, of course, but he didn't want her to worry.

Kaede typed, "You look stupid." then pressed Send.

He looked at the picture she sent once more. Her lithe frame hidden under an oversized panda sweater. Kaede thought she looked cute. _That girl and all her panda-ness._

His phone beeped again and when he opened it, it was another picture of her only this time she was pouting. It elicited a low rumble in Kaede's throat. _Silly girl._

He typed again, "Merry Christmas."

**Kaede's cat is named after Sancho Panza, a fictional character from the Miguel de Cervantes novel, Don Quixote. Sancho acted as Don Quixote's servant, squire and sidekick and that's how Kaede sees his new cat. I thought it was an appropriate name after establishing that Kaede is a fan of classic books. R&R.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks for the reviews! This chapter goes more in depth into Sakura's background. **

Hatsumoude Shrine was packed for New Year's Eve, everyone was probably prompted to go out after the snow melted. The Ishihara family normally spent the new year in Osaka but this year they had to spend it back in Kanagawa because she, Ayumi, was on call the next day. As a nurse, she works very hard to support the family on her own. It's never been the same since her husband left. Ayumi has had to become both father and mother to the kids—support their studies, make sure there's food on the table, and still spend quality time with them. _The sacrifices moms make for their kids..._

Ayumi glanced at her daughter. She was a few inches taller than her, the height taken after her dad. She stood next to her in front of the shrine, praying. She's very proud of who Sakura has become. She rose above their broken home situation and focused all her energies in her studies. Though, she doesn't have very many friends for a girl her age. Ayumi's not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. Once she tried to encourage Sakura to go out more and befriend more people, "Sakura, no one should be alone." But her daughter only responded flatly, "More friends only mean more people can hurt you."

She has a good point. This is probably a defense mechanism, Ichiro is kind of the same way. They both hardly knew their father, seeing him only a few times a year, but they loved him and they knew that he left them for another woman. Their distrust of people probably stems from that, and it's probably her fault for not protecting them from overhearing the argument that ruined it all. Now, sometimes, it hurt to see them that way, they both don't have very many friends though they seem to be thriving well.

Ichiro has his video games and his boy scout group. Sakura has her academics. They both seem to be happy. Ayumi is glad that Ichiro is growing to be quite the strategist from his video games and that Sakura is enjoying her classes so much and all her activities, and that she's never lost her compassion for animals and people. Even at home, she has been a great helper. Granted, she argues with her naughty little brother all the time, but she's never failed to look after him as his second mother whenever Ayumi's too busy with work. She has grown to be very responsible—always looking after Ichiro, volunteering at the shelter, helping her classmates out. She trusted her daughter with everything, knowing she is responsible enough to do the right thing.

Sakura looked beautiful tonight. She's not one to dress up, often opting for more practical choices. She doesn't even ask her own mother for anything—it's just typical considerate Sakura, not wanting to burden anyone with her frivolities. Ayumi would even have to keep track of what she needs and sometimes her wants to dote on her. But today, as per family tradition, she was prettified.

They always dressed up on New Year's Eve. Ayumi had told the both of them a few years ago, "I work so much and don't get to be pretty. Let's all dress up on New Year so I can at least be pretty when I greet the new year." And that's what they did. Every year, Ayumi would wear her red kimono with birds and flowers on it and she'd decorate her hair with a pretty ornament. Then Ichiro would wear the traditional gi and hakama and Sakura would wear her blue, snowflake-decorated kimono. Only this year, she had to wear a new one, a pink one that is a gift from her grandparents since she already outgrew her old one—she's grown so much, standing at about 175cm now—tall just like her dad.

Ayumi noticed that Sakura had decided to pin her hair up with the cherry blossom ornament her father had given her when she was five. She felt a pang in her heart for a moment. Ayumi wanted to hate him when he left, but she couldn't and still can't, for her children's sake. Nonetheless, the heartbreak has shattered her in so many ways still and she can only hope that her weaknesses will not hurt her own children.

She watched them fondly for a bit then put her game face on, "Alright, you two excited for the fireworks?" Ayumi turned to them enthusiastically. "I'm hungry, mama." Ichiro complained with pleading big gray eyes, just like his father's. Ayumi smiled at him,"Well, what do you want, sweetheart?"

"Onigiri! Wait, um...yakitori!" Ichiro cheered. _They both have such big appetites. _She's gotten used to it. Even though they were not the wealthiest, Ayumi makes sure her kids are never in want. Ayumi earns well enough, and if she has to, she pulls extra hours at the hospital to make sure they get whatever they needed or asked for. If she didn't, the two would probably be starving all the time. She giggled at the thought.

Ichiro led the way to the food stands while Sakura followed closely behind them. Ichiro and Ayumi were waiting for the yakitori to finish grilling when Sakura suddenly tapped her, "Mom, I'll be right back." She said with a small smile on her face. Ayumi watched her go. When the food finished grilling and Sakura still did not come back, she took Ichiro to go search for her. Ayumi noticed a tall young man towering over the rest of the crowd and she figured maybe she could coax him into helping her find her daughter. But when she came closer, she was surprised to see that Sakura was actually talking to this young man. They were clearly friends but she's never met him before, Ayumi only knew Chisa, Keijiro, Hoshi and Ryusuke.

He was chewing on a Pocky stick with a Namahage mask strapped to the side of his head.

"Are you taking part in the Namahage?" Ayumi overheard Sakura ask him as she pointed to the mask on his head. The Namahage ritual was the New Year's Eve ritual where young men dress up as Namahage demons to scare naughty kids and thus correct bad behavior.

The young man shook his head. "No. I just thought I could scare Sancho with it."  
Sakura beamed, "How is Sancho?"  
"He's doing well. Always sleeping."  
"Sounds like someone I know." She said and he gave her a smirk in response.

"Oi, Sakura, there you are." Ayumi finally interrupted. Sakura turned when she heard her mother's voice, "I've been looking everywhere for you—oh, and who is this?" She smiled, pretending to only notice the young man, even though with his size he's hard to miss.

"Um, mom, this is Rukawa Kaede." Sakura smiled, looking to him before turning back to her. Kaede glanced at Sakura and a look akin to fondness manifested on his face. Then he turned to her, "Good evening," he greeted politely. Sakura glanced at him once more, the smile seemingly stuck on her face.

_Kaede? _Ayumi's seen the name before on her daughter's wrist last week when she strove to avoid getting it wet while washing the dishes. "Is that a tattoo?" Ayumi had asked then and Sakura shook her head, "No, just my friend being silly. I don't even know what Kaede-ra is supposed to mean."

_So Rukawa is also Kaede? _She's heard of Rukawa before. Sakura has talked about him several times,

"Sorry, I'm late, I was tutoring Rukawa-kun."  
"Rukawa-kun donated the fireworks for the festival."  
"Rukawa-kun said soup, so I'm buying soup and taking it over."  
"I'm making congee because Rukawa-kun is sick."  
"I'm so proud of Rukawa-kun, he's improving so much in school."  
"Rukawa-kun is teaching me English. I didn't even know he knows English very well!"  
"Rukawa-kun has so many surprises."  
"Rukawa-kun is so kind, he adopted a kitten."  
"Rukawa-kun is actually very nice."

Rukawa this. Rukawa that. If she knew any better she would have suspected her daughter of liking this Rukawa, but she didn't because she knew Sakura is very guarded and cautious and she has very high standards. Chisa even said once when she visited that the guys cower from Sakura because of her individuality, independence and her strictness. Ayumi once again feels partly to blame for this, but at the same time she feels grateful that her daughter is wise and careful enough to not just throw away her heart to anyone—unlike her mother.

However, now that she's able to put the name together with the face, she's beginning to have doubts. Not only did he not lack in appeal for a young man, there was something clearly different about their friendship.

"The Rukawa you tutor? You never told me he was so tall." Ayumi said trying hard to keep a smile on her face. Ichiro gasped in awe, "Yeah! You are as tall as my dad!"

"Ichiro." Sakura hissed to get him to shut up. Ayumi shuddered. Being reminded of _him _still hurt. She strove to distract herself, "So, Rukawa-kun, tall as you, you must be some kind of athlete, huh?" Ayumi said, trying her best to fake a smile on her face.

Kaede glanced at Sakura, "Yes. I play basketball."

"Rukawa-kun and the team went to the nationals last year and they will be going again this year!" Sakura cheered with the same excited look on her face whenever she watches the Animal Channel.

"Wow," Ayumi remarked, but the enthusiasm was gone from her face—_he _used to play basketball. "A tall, athletic, handsome kid like you must have plenty of raging fans, huh?" She failed to keep her smile up and failed to mask the coldness in her tone. Kaede did not respond. With a pink tinge on his cheeks, he offered a small smile instead.

"He's too modest. But yes, he has quite a following of girls in school and even from other schools!" Ayumi watched as Sakura glanced at Kaede and smiled at him. Stolen glances...secret smiles..._that's something you don't see in a platonic friendship_.

Ayumi looked at Kaede who was offering Sakura and Ichiro some of his Pocky. _Tall, handsome, popular basketball player, with plenty of girls at his tail...he's exactly the heartbreaker type. _Feelings of anxiety ignited within her, and her fears reawakened—fears for her children—that they'll get hurt, trashed, abandoned. She does not want her daughter to end up like her.

Ayumi took hold of both her kids' hands "It was nice meeting you, Rukawa-kun." She bowed, "But we ought to get going now." She smiled and she could feel Sakura eyeing her from her peripheral vision. She did not wait for a response from Kaede, turning to push her way through the crowd.

A few minutes later, they settled in the far east end of the shrine square. "I didn't even get to invite him to sit with us..." Sakura panted, looking back at the crowd. Ayumi hissed, "Sakura—"

A loud boom halted their conversation. The fireworks show has begun, the lights that decorated the sky made Ichiro whistle in awe. "I'll be right back, I'm going to find Rukawa-kun and invite him to sit with us."

"Sakura." Ayumi called and her daughter stopped on her tracks and turned to her mother, "You said before, no one must ever be alone. I won't let Rukawa-kun greet the year alone." Then she threw herself back in the crowd.

Ayumi watched her go for the second time that night. She wants her kids to be happy. She really does. She hopes that her own brokenness won't ruin their chances of finding love and happy ever afters. She wants what's best for her children. But she also knows that the best things are hard to find. The world is deceitful. It hides its darkest secrets under a mask of goodness and beauty. Ayumi fell for that trap and it's cursed her forever. She hopes her curse does not fall on her kids. She hopes their way to happiness will be smooth-sailing. She can't protect her kids forever, but for as long as she can, she'll try her hardest to keep her children from making her mistakes to keep their gentle hearts from breaking.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Sakura missed half the show looking for Kaede but she could not find him anywhere. She pulled out her phone and typed, "Where are you?"

Kaede responded, "Home. I'm tired." _So he did not even stay to watch the fireworks after all? _Sakura stared sadly at his text. Her phone beeped again, effectively startling her, "Happy New Year, Sakura." Sakura smiled. She likes it when he uses her first name.

"Happy New Year, Kaede."

***So, as you can see here, Sakura did not understand what Kaede wrote on her wrist. She read the 's as the hiragana letter for "ra". She didn't get the hint. I will explain later why she's so dense. **

**Again, I am very grateful for your feedback. **


	18. Chapter 18

Most people don't wake up early on New Year's day. They party too hard the night before and are wasted and hung over the next day. The streets were quiet in the early morning as Kaede cycled back to his apartment from his daily morning basketball work out. It's become his habit to rise with the sun and go out to play basketball, while everybody else is still asleep.

Kaede parked and chained his bike in his apartment's bicycle parking. He walked up to the entrance carrying his duffel bag and noticed a girl sitting on a bench in the cold. With her face buried in her scarf, she seemed to have dozed off. But Kaede thought he recognized the green coat from somewhere. He stalked to have a look and was taken aback by surprise, "Ishihara-san."

Sakura awoke with a start. She looked up and blinked at him, "Rukawa-kun, f-finally y-you're back." _How long has she been sitting here? _He was gone for at least two hours. He clicked his tongue and motioned for the door, Sakura followed behind him.

When they got to his apartment, he turned up the heater to its highest setting and boiled some water to make some tea. Sakura had already settled herself on the couch petting Sancho when Kaede served her the tea. She thanked him and took a sip. Kaede noticed that compared to her usual shirt and shorts get up, she wore a nice dress today. "What were you doing out there," he glanced at the clock, "at six in the morning?"

"Waiting for you." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She took another sip and smiled at Kaede who was trying hard to figure out what was on her mind. She turned her eyes to him,"Get dressed. I'm taking you somewhere." _Huh? _Kaede gave her a confused look. "Don't ask, just do it." She said excitedly and Kaede did not question her. His first thought was maybe it's another Math lesson. _But seriously, on a holiday?_

They were at the train station, waiting for the next Tokyo trip. Kaede still did not know what she was up to but he packed a calculator in his coat pocket just in case it was going to be on the hardest kinds of Math. She looked very excited, as she always is with Math, but she still was not telling him anything about where they were going. All she says is, "You'll see." And then she would slip one hand in her coat's pocket. In his frustration, Kaede decided to stare at the clock and count the passing seconds instead.

"Hey," she called from right next to him on the bench and he turned to face her. "I'm sorry about last night." Sakura had a sheepish smile on her face, she looked ashamed about something. "For abruptly leaving..." Sakura's smile turned melancholic, and her eyes focused away from his face. "My mother has a really hard time trusting people after my dad left, you see. She's become very cynical and she has been very, very protective of me and my brother since then."

Kaede's heart skipped a beat. Actually, he barely noticed how her mother acted last night. He was too distracted by how beautiful Sakura looked. It's shameful that he could be so easily distracted and overcome by her mere presence. When they left, he thought he'd seen the most beautiful part of the night, the fireworks would be no match.

Nonetheless, this is news to him and for a moment, it made him feel glad that Sakura was opening up to him about her family's secrets. But then a weight fell on his chest when he realized what she was really telling him: this burden she carries is big and difficult and problematic.

"We loved him so much...I studied at Kitazawagakuen to get close to him..." Sakura whispered, her eyes still focused on something else. "But he didn't want me...He broke us all...my mom, Ichiro..." If she was about to cry, Kaede could not tell. She had on a really tough face and she didn't look like she'd break down soon. "My mother fears reliving the pain...and I guess I do too that's why friends have been difficult to come by..." Kaede watched Sakura fidget in her seat, obviously uncomfortable from exposing her vulnerabilities. He wanted to touch her but he held back and thought that will only make it worse.

"Anyway," The cheerfulness returned to her tone, and she faced him smiling brightly,"I guess what I'm really saying is, I apologize for yesterday. My family's weird, and I'm sorry you had to see that." Kaede eyed her and thought now he understood—Sakura's mom's fears, Sakura's life...the puzzle pieces of what makes Sakura are coming together.

Kaede shrugged, "You don't need to apologize." Her smile dropped and Kaede smirked, "Even if your mother doesn't trust me, _you _trust me." Kaede said, pursing his lips together. For a moment Sakura just stared at him, then a small smiled manifested on her face, "Yes, yes, I do." She whispered softly, her eyes warm and kind.

"Good." Kaede smiled. To shift away from the depressing mood, he thought to make light of the situation. He does silly things like this with the basketball team too whenever they are on the verge of giving up to keep their spirits high and to get their minds focused on the game. But he wasn't about to kick Sakura on the bum..._that would be...er...bad_. Instead, swiftly, he reached for her right pocket and retrieved whatever it was she was hiding in there.

Sakura gasped and squealed and shouted as she tried to take it back. Kaede kept his hand on her face and stretched his other arm away from her so she couldn't snatch it away. The smile on his face widened as he watched her helplessly struggle to reach for the items.

Kaede turned his head to check exactly what he was holding on to. They were two tickets to—"Disneyland?" Sakura dropped her arms and gave up the fight. "We're going to Disneyland?" She just pouted and glared at him but he already knew the answer was yes. He did not push it any further.

The train ride to Tokyo took about an hour. They did not speak much on the train, except for a few words. "Where did you get the tickets?" Kaede has not been to an amusement park since he was a kid. Sakura glanced at him and turned back to watching the scenery outside the window, "I bought them with my savings." She didn't seem upset anymore but he still had several questions. He eyed the back of her head suspiciously, _I wonder what kind of Math we're going to be doing over there. _He tried to come up with all sorts of scenarios in his head where Math would be used in a theme park setting. He only prayed it wasn't going to be Calculus.

They arrived in Tokyo around nine and hopped on the special train that goes directly to Maihama. Sakura made suppressed squeals from her seat; she acted more excited than the kid in front of them. "I'm so excited! Aren't you excited, Rukawa-kun?" Kaede concluded then and there that her love for Math has reached a whole new level_. _But he had to admit, he is kind of excited. He remembered as a child how much fun amusement parks were, and he was feeling all nostalgic right now, "A little."

"Only a little? How can you not be _so_ excited?" It seems it was rhetorical question. She did not wait for a response. She focused on the road the rest of the ride and when the train stopped, she was one of the first people out.

They entered Tokyo Disneyland and Kaede was surprised to see it wasn't crowded. Nonetheless, Sakura did not waste a minute to get moving. She held him by the hand and led him to different rides, shops and shows. The Pirates of the Caribbean ride was the first ride to make Sakura scream when the ride went on a sudden drop. They got out with him making fun of her for being the only one scared. He witnessed more of her screaming after they went on wilder rides. The smirk seemingly stuck on his face as she laughed at herself. So far, no Math yet, though. Kaede almost forgot about that part. He was too distracted, having a good time. He thought, with the music, the cheer and the giggling Sakura dragging him around, he could not help but feel an overwhelming sense of bliss.

By 12:30, Sakura's stomach growled loudly. They stopped for lunch at the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall where Sakura ordered an entire course for them both. When the food arrived, Sakura quickly indulged in hers after they said their thanks. But Kaede had to ask something, "So are you going to test me on this?"

"Huh?" Sakura mustered between a mouthful of food. "When are the Math questions coming?" He said as he sliced his steak and took a bite. "When are _the _Math questions coming?" She repeated what he said.

_Huh? Is she being obnoxious?_ Kaede was confused now. _What kind of a tutorial session is this? A mind game? _"Are you going to quiz me? If so, what are your pointers?" Sakura matched his confusion, "Why would I quiz you?" She said and took another bite of her steak.

_What is she up to? _"Isn't this some kind of tutorial thing?" Kaede hissed, getting a little frustrated. Sakura frowned then raised her eyebrow, "No. What made you think that?"

Kaede looked around at the Alice in the Wonderland themed restaurant and turned back to face her, "Then what is—what are—why are we here?!" Sakura threw him a look of surprise, then she swallowed the food that was in her mouth and smiled at him, "Because it's your birthday, silly."

Kaede was stunned.

He forgot.

Sakura was still smiling at him as he processed the initial shock.

He forgot his own birthday but..._she knew? And she did all this? _Planning it all out, dressing up, coming to his house at six in the morning, keeping the trip a secret, trying to surprise him, cheering him up all day..._This girl..._

Kaede laughed—an audible, moderately loud laugh that came from his heart. For the first time in a long time, he is happy, very happy that he can not hold back his elation. It's not the same happiness as a victory in basketball. It's not gladness from the fulfillment of goals. This one's something else...It's joy...It runs deep and yet it had no beginning and no end. He just feels whole, complete. He is beyond glad. He is overjoyed.

Kaede looked up to see Sakura with her mouth specked with crumbs and her face in complete bafflement, "What's so funny?" She said and Kaede grinned in response. Sakura's frown vanished and she smiled with him, "It's nice to see you _really _smile." She mused.

He stared at the lovely girl in front of him, big gray eyes soft and sparkling, dazzling warm smiles, alabaster skin tinged with pink, and all Kaede could think of was that he wanted to be her first and dearest. He wanted all of her—her company, her friendship, her love. He wanted her to stay with him—to see her smile, to hear her laugh, hear her breathe, listen to her talk endlessly about Math...He wanted to see her grow. He wanted to journey with her, to be part of her present and her future. He wanted her to be his alone from this day forth, "Say thou art mine and ever." Kaede said in English.

Sakura giggled, "My art? What does that mean?" She was obviously clueless. She eyed him suspiciously, "Are you mocking my drawings?" Kaede smiled and began cutting his steak again, "It's Shakespeare." He said and she gasped in response, "You know that English too? Isn't that hard English?" With a smug grin, Kaede replied, "Keep studying and you'll understand."

In the afternoon, when Sakura's phone died, she bought a disposable camera and took a bunch of pictures of him with the most random sights and objects. She'd tell him to smile for the camera, or do a silly pose but Kaede only ever stood straight and gave the camera a deadpan look. "Can't you look a little happier? The camera won't bite you know." To frustrate her, Kaede scowled harder in response.

They went on more rides but rested for a while when Sakura got all dizzy from the teacup ride. They then visited Toontown and Tomorrowland, which Sakura was most fascinated with. Then they went on a brief excursion in the Disney castle and sat around for the afternoon parade. Kaede was surprised to see that Sakura could sing along to most of the songs that played.

By late afternoon, they visited Disney Sea because Sakura said she wanted to watch the shows. But Kaede insisted on going on several high-speed thrilling rides and she obliged him. The next three hours was a Sakura screamfest, which Kaede found absolutely amusing.

"My limbs feel like jelly and I think I just lost my entrails." Sakura groaned as she sat on a bench after the Tower of Terror. Kaede lifted her limp arm and dropped it. Then he did it again. "I think your bones are gone." Sakura playfully glared at him, "Do you enjoy tormenting me?" Kaede only chuckled in response.

They dined at a nearby restaurant that was fashioned after a cruise ship. Sakura initially protested saying that it would be very fancy but Kaede assured her he was going to pay for dinner. After all it was his birthday and she'd gotten out of her way to plan a lavish, whole day present for him with her savings. He could at least take care of dinner.

The restaurant was designed like a real cruise ship and he and Sakura marveled at the details they put into it in order to capture the cruise ship atmosphere. When the waiter asked for their orders, it was obvious that Sakura was holding back, whispering to the waiter, ordering only the smallest, cheapest entrées. Kaede thought he'd relieve her of her burdens and ordered several dishes so she can have her fill. When the food came, she looked like a child in a candy store and Kaede thought he saw tears in her eyes after her first bite of the lobster. After they finished, Kaede asked for the check but the waiter returned with a small cake topped with a lit sparkler.

Kaede eyed Sakura suspiciously, who only grinned and clapped. She was conniving with that waiter after all. He looked at the small red cake on the table. On the plate, written in chocolate syrup, were the words, 'Happy birthday, Kaede'. Kaede realized how new it all felt to him. He has not celebrated his birthday in a while...He has not had a birthday cake in a while...He has not spent his birthday with anyone in a while... Sakura smiled softly from across him. _Angels do exist._

"Make a wish, Rukawa-kun."

The sky was dark and the air cold when they finally marched back to Disneyland to watch the fireworks show, the last thing on the agenda for the night. They settled on the grass right in front of the castle waiting for the show to start.

"Ne, it makes sense now that your jersey number in basketball is eleven." Sakura said as she stared into the night sky. Kaede glanced her way but did not say anything. She raised her index fingers in front of her, "One-one for January 1." Kaede has never really thought of it that way. The jersey number was assigned to him as a result of Hanamichi's whining and silly antics. But now that he thinks about it, she's right. Hence, he decided to keep it as his number for life.

"Ishihara, when is _your_ birthday?" Kaede asked, genuinely curious. Maybe he could return the favor someday. Sakura raised an eyebrow at him, "If you're trying to reciprocate, forget it. It's already passed."

Kaede smirked, and stretched his legs in front of him, "The good thing about birthdays is you have them every year. Tell me when yours is." Sakura paused and smiled, "October tenth."

_October tenth? Where was he then? _Kaede paused to think, "That was the week I was sick." He realized and felt a little guilty that she had to spend her birthday looking after him. Sakura probably saw the guilt on his face because she then said, "Don't worry you were already better then. It was the day before you were able to come back to school."

Kaede felt relieved, but bothered that he wasn't there for her. If he remembers correctly, he did not get to talk to her very much on that day, "How did you celebrate it?"

"Huh? Oh, um..." Sakura turned away from him to watch the people sit on the grass near them, "I spent it doing something I haven't done in a while but really care about..." She mused.

"Did you spend it at the shelter?"

Sakura faced him, her eyes wide like saucers, then she relaxed, "You _do_ know more about me than I thought." She exclaimed, playfully poking him on the chest. Kaede's heart skipped a beat at her touch. He raised his hands in surrender, "Hey, I didn't stalk you or anything. I just happened to have seen your poster and the woman behind the counter told me the rest of it."

"Ah, yes...the poster. I forgot about that." She said nervously chewing on her lip.

"So you spent your birthday looking after animals?"

"Why not? They're so cute!" Her eyes twinkled, "Such innocent little things abandoned, left to suffer. Oh, it breaks my heart." Kaede watched her with amusement as her facial expressions switched from melancholy to excitement in seconds as she spoke, "That's why I go over to give them love! I want them to know they are not unwanted and that abandonment is not the end of the world because they still have me! I love them! If I could I would adopt them all, but my mom won't let me." She looked sad again, then suddenly switched back to cheerfulness, "But it's okay because now I can give love to more than just one dog! You should see them, Rukawa-kun, they are so cute and adorab—sorry, am I boring you?"

Kaede shook his head. He liked listening to her talk about her passions, even if it's Math or bears or what not. It seems every little thing she does makes him happy.

"Really?" She fiddled with her thumbs, "Chisa and Keijiro-kun say my obsession with animals is annoying so I've stopped talking about it to people."

"It doesn't bother me. Talk about them all you want."

Sakura smiled gently at him, "You are kind. Maybe...you could come with me over there sometime?"

Kaede nodded.

Their conversation came to a halt when the fireworks display began. The crowd chorused with 'oohs' and 'aahs'. The night sky was lit by exploding colors of red, green, yellow and blue; Kaede himself could not help but be in awe at the beautifully synchronized show.

"Ne," Sakura tapped him on the shoulder, "Can you stand over there real quick and I'll take a picture of you with the fireworks in the background?" Kaede rolled his eyes in response, as he had been doing all day. She knew he wasn't very into taking pictures, but he took the steps forward anyway so she's satisfied. "Try to look happy this time. I'm getting tired of taking photos of you and you don't even smile." She called and Kaede realized she was not in any of the photos of today. He wanted to pocket the memory, and he wanted to remember her, the girl who makes him happy, here with him.

Kaede backtracked and took the camera from her hands, "Here," He grabbed Sakura's arm and positioned her to stand next to him. He stretched his arm out and focused the camera on them, "Stay close so I can get us both." Sakura stepped towards him, her shoulder bumping against his chest. It made him want to put his arm around her but he stopped himself and instead just leaned his head closer to hers. They were so close, he could smell the scent of lavender on her hair. "Smile."

_Click._

**R&R. :)**


	19. Chapter 19

"You went to Disneyland on New Year's day? Wow. I bet Ichiro enjoyed that." Chisa exclaimed. Sakura didn't think it best to mention that she went with Kaede instead of her family. Chisa might get the wrong idea and that's not good.

The third term started four days ago. It is evident in many of the students' faces that they're all antsy for the school year to end, level up, and get high school over with...well, maybe just the kids in her class.

Chisa said she didn't want to give up the cute high school uniform yet, but that's just so much like her to dwell on silly things like clothes. Many say it's odd that they're bestfriends considering how different they are, but Chisa has just been her friend for a long time. She trusts Chisa like a sister and even though some of her antics can be annoying, sometimes, they can be really uplifting when she's having a bad day or when she's concentrating and stressing on something too much.

"I'd love to visit Disneyland with Daiki someday. I think it's a romantic place for date, don't you think? Oh, Daiki..." She said, leaning back on her locker and sighing wistfully. She looked like she was about to melt. Sakura blushed at the thought and giggled nervously. _Is it romantic? _Sakura tried not to think of the implications of that trip. She only really meant to cheer Kaede up. She hoped it wasn't weird for him.

Sakura glanced at Chisa. She had questions in her head about what makes it romantic and whether or not it was weird to have brought a guy-friend there. But that would be saying too much. Chisa would know something was up and she will certainly get the wrong idea if she mentioned any more about it.

They headed down to eat lunch at Chisa's classroom, Class 2 Section 4. Most of her classmates disappear for lunch to eat at nearby cafes and canteens. Some of their friends invite them to go with but Sakura would rather save her money (especially since she eats a lot) and Chisa would rather eat with her than with others.

Sakura opened her bento boxes (she has two). Instantly, her mouth watered at the delicious aroma of octopus and shrimp. "Itadakimasu!"

Sakura tries to eat like a lady, as Chisa had pointed out so many times that she has to act more like one. But food is just too good to eat slowly. Chisa would argue, "If you eat too fast, then you won't be able to savor the flavor." She's been trying really hard for the past year to correct her bestfriend's eating habit, but she's failed every time. "I can't help it, Chisa, as soon as I smell it, I get sooo hungry." She would whine in response. It's not like she eats like a beast anyway, she is still has her table manners, she just doesn't have, as Chisa calls it, 'the appetite of a lady'. But to Sakura, if she was to express it in mathematical terms: her love for food is greater than her desire to be a lady.

As she ate, she could feel Chisa's eyes on her. "Wow. It's really a wonder you don't gain weight. It all probably goes to your height, huh?" She said. Chisa was a good three inches shorter than Sakura. Sakura stood at 175 cm tall and still growing. Many have complimented her for how tall she was, and maybe she should be grateful, but she can't help the part of her that feels a little bothered by it. She always feels like a giant around her friends; it makes her feel very awkward when they look up to her and she, looking down on them. Also, shopping for clothes can be quite difficult. While she has no problems on the size and fit, the proper lengths can be hard to find; she didn't like bearing too much skin, so that is always a big problem for her.

Throughout their meal, Chisa talked about Daiki and about new rumors and gossips she's heard. Sakura finished her meal and Chisa was still talking, not even halfway done with her food. "Mao has gotten herself in a mess. See, she likes Oda-kun but Oda-kun likes the freshman girl from the cooking club, Reiko but Reiko likes Kyo-kun. Mao confessed to Oda-kun last Christmas and when he rejected her, she started dating Kyo-kun, whom she does not even like, just to get Reiko jealous and to keep Reiko's attention away from Oda-kun. But now Kyo-kun is taking Mao so seriously, he's introducing her to his parents as the girl he will soon marry! Isn't that a mess?! I always thought Kyo only had feelings for his music."

Sakura does not normally pay attention to gossip, but if it's things that involve her friends, she tries to listen more, just in case there's something they might need help on. "I think Kyo-kun can read through Mao's act and this is his way of getting her to stop."

"Really? That does sound like Kyo-kun..." Chisa paused to chew and swallow her food. "Well, then I guess he's still the biggest emotionless bastard I know." Then she froze and hiccuped, she looked surprised about something behind Sakura. She leaned closer to whisper, "I was wrong, there's a bigger emotionless bastard I know and he's right behind you."

Sakura turned and found Kaede walking in the classroom, approaching their table. "Rukawa-kun." She called, surprised to see him. He's never approached her like this before. He doesn't really talk to her in school outside the tutoring sessions.

He raised a hand as a greeting and looked to Chisa briefly to acknowledge her presence.

"Ishihara," He began in a low voice. Sakura did notice that he's dropped the honorific from her name lately, not that she minds of course. It's been very weird for her that he's been addressing her so formally. This is better, they are friends after all, no need to be so formal. "I need to take some remedial tests so I can play at the Inter-high games. I'm supposed to take them this coming Monday and Tuesday. I'm needing to cram and review. I was hoping you can help me."

Sakura beamed, "Of course! Shohoku's ace can't miss the nationals!" She said excitedly and she could tell Kaede was holding back a smile. "We'll study all weekend. I will go to—" Sakura stopped, she can't offer to go to Kaede's apartment with Chisa listening. She'll get the wrong idea. She laughed nervously, "I mean, would you mind coming to my place to study?"

"That's fine. I'll be over at eight tomorrow." He waved and left, yawning. Sakura watched his back as he walked out into the hall.

When she faced Chisa again, she beheld her bestfriend's baffled face, "Wow. That's the most I've ever heard him talk." Sakura giggled recalling all the funny things Kaede says when he does open his mouth, "He's not a talker."

Chisa eyed her suspiciously, her gaze made Sakura feel über conscious."You two have gotten quite close, huh." She said and Sakura smiled, "Yeah, we sort of have...He's pretty cool." Sakura said, she's very grateful to know the many sides of him. He truly is a wonderful person to know.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Have you spoken with Sakura-chan about your remedial tests?" Riyota asked as he wiped the sweat off his back. Practice had just ended and while everyone is excited about going to the national games again this year, there was a clear nervousness in the air when they found out Kaede might not be able to play because of his failures from the previous terms. Fortunately, Hanamichi had managed to pass his exams and did not have to take the remedial tests; nevertheless, they still needed Kaede.

"Yes. We'll be studying at her house all weekend, so I won't be here for practice tomorrow and Sunday." Kaede said, taking off his sweat-drenched shirt. Riyota waved his hand, "Don't worry about it. The team needs you so just make sure you pass. Don't get distracted by big googly eyes." He said with a suggestive, teasing tone. When Kaede turned to face him with a look somewhere between panic and surprise, Riyota wiggled his brows and winked at him. In an instant, the ace's face turned a deep shade of red.

"So you _do_ like her." He and Ayako had both observed that he's developed a habit of glancing at the crowd after every time he makes a point. It didn't seem to affect his performance but they were worried that he's distracted about something that could potentially affect his performance.

As a team, it's their duty to help their teammates out if ever they have any problems or issues, but Kaede is a very tough person to draw out information from. He's never been one to talk about his personal life, his thoughts or anything. They hardly know anything about him besides his basic information related to basketball and academics. Even when they had that game with Ichiro Mizusawa, Kaede's lowerclassman in junior high, he did not even say a word about his feelings or his sympathies about Mizusawa's condition. It's rather frustrating, but Ayako says he's always been that way ever since she's known him. He will never talk so everyone has to take clues and hints and put the puzzle pieces together themselves.

It was during the Ryonan game that Ayako noticed it was Sakura that he was looking at. Ayako said that he and Sendoh had a lot of mid-game talks and Sendoh kept looking and pointing towards Sakura's direction. _Ayako, my beloved, is so smart. _But she and Riyota were not positive about it. He did not know for sure when he made the suggestive comment, but it was his reaction that gave it all away and confirmed what Ayako had been saying.

"I-I don't." Kaede growled but it was hard to feel threatened at all when his face looked like a tomato and his voice cracked like a man-child. Riyota stifled a laugh, "Okay. Okay. I believe you." He didn't. But he wanted to test him further to gauge what kind of effect this will have on the team. Perhaps, he meddles too much, but Shohoku needs to keep up to its name; he's not going to be the captain that makes Shohoku a team of no consequence again.

"You know, I hear she's very popular in Akita prefecture. I hear she even has a lot of admirers from Sannoh." It was a lie of course, he doesn't even know if Sakura has ever stepped on Akita land. But he only said it to see Kaede's reaction.

Sure enough, Kaede raised his eyebrow, and then scowled, "Really?" He said dumping his sweaty shirt in his duffel bag and slamming his locker. "We will crush Sannoh."

_How gullible_...But then again, he was the same way with Ayako, so he's not really one to judge. Riyota realized that he and Kaede had similarities on that end. Just like him, Kaede is extremely possessive of her. And just like him, competition for the girl and the desire to impress her fuel Kaede's drive for victory. _He's just like Hanamichi too!Who would have thought we're all no different from each other in the end?_

"You need to pass first." Riyota shrugged, a knowing, smug grin on his face. "I will." Kaede dumped his water bottle in his bag and zipped it shut.

Riyota laughed, "Well I'm glad you've found someone who motivates you."

The deep blush returned to Kaede's face and just then Hanamichi walked in. He must have sensed something in the atmosphere because he asked, "Eh, what's going on? Why does the fox's face look like a giant pimple?"

While Kaede frowned and mumbled incoherent words under his breath, Riyota's stomach ached from laughing so hard, "Our little fox is growing up, Hanamichi!"

"He is?!" Hanamichi gasped, mockery in his tone, "Did he finally figure out how to shave?!" It is well-known in the team that Kaede goes to the shaver shop to get his facial hair trimmed. Hanamichi and his gang saw him walk in the shop one day and blabbed to everyone that he's a child who can't grow a beard nor shave his own. The thought made Riyota reach for his scruff, which he grew out because Ayako said she likes it.

Hanamichi was cracking up so hard as he pointed at Kaede's chin, making all sorts of jokes about his being less of a man for his lack of facial hair. Riyota could not help but laugh with him. The redhead's laugh has always been infectious. They all end up sounding like hyenas when Hanamichi starts laughing.

"Whatever, I'm going home." Kaede picked up his bags and began to walk out. Riyota called out one last time, "Pass that test, Rukawa, and we'll go kick some ass!"

"That guy is hopeless." Hanamichi commented. As usual, he hardly says anything nice about Kaede. Riyota smirked, "You guys have more in common than you think."


	20. Chapter 20

He's never been inside the Ishihara home before. He already felt closer to her just seeing and being in her home. The place wasn't very big. There was a small living room, a small dining room and a small kitchen. They didn't have very many things but they had plenty of pictures. One wall in the living room was covered in pictures of their family. He stopped to look at them as Ichiro, who was very excited to have him over, went to get his sister upstairs. There were pictures of young Sakura holding a rabbit, a toothless Sakura, a young Sakura holding her baby brother...it was nice to see her young self. _It's cute. _A part of him wished he knew her sooner, but then again, could they have been friends then? No, the circumstances would have been different. _We are exactly where we are supposed to be. _

Kaede heard the front door open and saw Ayumi walk in. She looked like she just went grocery shopping, judging from the bags of groceries in her hand. She noticed him as she was taking off her coat_, _"Good morning." Kaede greeted. Ayumi did not smile nor look happy to see him. "Rukawa-kun, I didn't realize you were coming early." She said flatly. Kaede nodded, "I need to cover as much ground as possible to ensure I pass."

"Is that so?"

Kaede felt unwelcomed. He remembered she was the same way before, on the night he brought Sakura home during his birthday. That night had ended with him walking her to her house where her mother was already waiting by the gate. Kaede remembers vividly Ayumi's cold demeanor towards him that night. "You're late." Ayumi said and Sakura only laughed nervously, "Yeah, Sorry, it's my fault, I wanted to watch the fireworks show." Nevertheless, Ayumi continued to glare at him as if it was his fault. Kaede did not say anything and Sakura, under her mother's eye, bade him a quick farewell, giving him the camera as a souvenir for the whole experience. Ayumi eyed him suspiciously as the events unfolded. She was such a tiger. Sakura had warned him then that her mom is very cynical. Her heartbreak left such a deep scar on her and her family that her first instinct is always to distrust people. Kaede kept his mind open so her coldness did not really affect him.

"Sorry, Rukawa-kun." He heard Sakura's steps coming down the stairs, "I had to make sure my room is clean." She appeared on the landing with Ichiro at her tail, "Oh, mom, you're home. Did you get the Pocky?" She asked as Ayumi headed towards the kitchen, "I did. I'll be up in a bit." She said in a monotonous tone. "I want one!" Ichiro ran after his mother.

Sakura gestured towards her room and Kaede followed. He noticed their stairwell had even more pictures of the family—grandparents, Ichiro as a scout, Sakura and Ichiro in their school uniforms..._They're family-oriented. _

"I asked her to get some Pocky because I knew you liked them." She whispered as they were climbing up.

Kaede saw the door to her room and it dawned on him that he was about to enter her personal space. A sudden overwhelming warmth and excitement surged through his veins as soon as he stepped in her room. It did not look like a typical girl's bedroom. The only indications of it being a girl's room was that it smelled like lavender and the stuffed panda on her green-sheeted bed was a dead giveaway. Her walls were white, decorated with a map on one, a periodic table on another and Uverworld posters by her bedside.

"You like Uverworld?" Kaede had asked then, raising an eyebrow at her as he settled on his spot at the floor table in the middle of the room. "I don't like them. I love them! I think they're the greatest band ever!" Sakura exclaimed, smiling brightly, excitedly, "I would love to be able to play like them someday, but I'm still saving for a guitar." Kaede recalled that time after the carnival where she was learning from the band how to play. He didn't realize she was a music fan.

Kaede chuckled. "I have their new album. Do you want a listen?" He said, offering an ear bud to her. "Oh, do I?! It's next on my things to buy!" She sat on the floor close to him so they can share one set of earphones. Sakura enjoyed the music so much she asked him to set the playlist on replay so they can listen to it while they reviewed.

Kaede was solving some Physics problems while Sakura, who was humming along to the song currently playing, checked his Math answers when Ayumi walked in to serve them snacks. She glared at the small space between him and her daughter and she did not mask her distress about their proximity to each other. "Aren't you supposed to be studying?" She said coldly, her eyes glaring sharply at Kaede. "We are." Sakura said calmly, "Rukawa-kun already knows most of it. He's just reviewing."

Ayumi frowned laying the tray of snacks on the table, "If he already knows it then why must he study here?" It was clear as day that she did not like Kaede but he did not let it bother him. She has nothing to worry about, nothing to be upset about.

The cheer left Sakura's face, "Mom, he's here because _I_ want to help him review."

For a second, Ayumi did not say anything, then she said apathetically, "Okay, well. I'll be cleaning up and making lunch downstairs. Let me know if you need anything." She left hesitantly, leaving the bedroom door cracked slightly open.

Sakura turned to Kaede and mouthed a 'sorry'. "She's gets that way with new people."  
Kaede shrugged, "I understand, my parents are protective too."

Sakura waited for him to say more. She never pressures him to talk about his family, she just sits and waits and listens—that's actually one of the things he likes about her.

"I moved to the States with them almost six years ago. But I had a hard time fitting in. The other kids made fun of me and my accent. I was also shorter then and I sucked at basketball."

"You? Short? You? Suck at basketball? I find that extremely hard to believe."

He smiled at the compliment. "It's true, I was. I was the butt of every joke and I got in a lot of fights. There was not a day where I did not come home without some kind of bruise or broken arm." He glanced at Sakura who looked worried and frightened.

"That's actually how basketball became my dream—it began with wanting to prove something to others...But my parents, not wanting me to get hurt anymore, they sent me back here. I lived with Obasan for a while, then I moved to live on my own."

Sakura touched his arm and gave it a soft squeeze. The act sent weird tingles up and down his spine. When he looked up, she was smiling softly at him, "I wouldn't want you hurt either." She said and Kaede felt an overwhelming urge to kiss her. _Crap. No. _Gori's angry face came to mind. _No. Don't act on your impulses._

"Anyway, so yeah, I understand your mom. She's only protecting you."

Sakura took her hand away to pick up her pen. He missed their contact immediately. "Don't worry, tomorrow she'll soften up to you."

She didn't.

Ayumi was just as cold to him as she was yesterday. It's almost like she has a grudge against him, as if he'd already done something she hated or that she was expecting him to do something stupid.

Over lunch that day, when Sakura stepped out to take a call from Chisa, she spoke frankly to him.

"Listen, Rukawa-kun, I know you like her. But I don't trust you." She said, her blue eyes cold and serious. Kaede could hear his heart pounding in his chest, but he kept his calm. He's been told once that mothers have some kind of sixth sense, and this must be it. He can deny it, but if she has some weird way of telling how he felt, then she'll have some weird way of telling if he's lying. He can't deny it but he doesn't really want to admit it either...not yet. All he can do is act calm, cool, wise. He let a small smile slip, "That's understandable. After all, trust is earned, not given."

Ayumi looked taken aback, but before she could say anything else, Sakura walked back in, "Chisa talks so much. How should I know if black eye shadow is better than blue eye shadow for a smokey eye? I don't even know what a smokey eye is." She said, helping herself to another serving of miso soup.

"What did you tell her?" Ayumi asked.

"Either way, she'll look like her eye is bruised."

Ayumi didn't seem to get it but Kaede snickered and he and Sakura laughed together. All through lunch and even while cleaning up after lunch, they kept joking around with sassy remarks, puns and clever jokes. To him, it felt extremely liberating to have someone, not necessarily similar to him in every way, but be able to match his mindset and share his sense of humor.

"What happens to nitrogen when the sun rises?" Kaede said as he passed a dirty plate to Sakura who was washing the dishes.

"What?"

"It becomes daytrogen." It took her a while to get it, and when she did she bent over on the sink, laughing. Kaede held back his own.

She gasped for breath, and came up with her comeback, "Well, I give your joke a score of 10 on the pH scale because that is so basic." She already giggled before he could even react. He raised his brows and pressed his tongue against his cheek, nodding at the acid-base reference. He countered quickly, "That's sad that I tried to make a chemistry joke and I didn't get a good reaction." Sakura laughed so hard at this, she clutched at her stomach, "You are so witty!"

It was nice to hear her laugh because of him. It was nice to know that he makes her happy.

It took a while for them both to finish washing the dishes with all their goofing around. They didn't notice it took them almost an hour to finish a small set of dishes. Time seemed to slow down. Everything else was forgotten, there was just him and her, stuck in their little bubble, in their own little world.

**I'll be AWOL for a bit. I have my finals coming up and I'm having a little bit of a writer's block as I insert scenes that are not in my original outline. But anyway I hope you like the backstory I made up for Rukawa. I thought it would be interesting to have his current motivations originally shaped by struggle. But blah, blah blah, you don't really want me explaining that do you? R&R as usual. **


	21. Chapter 21

Sakura bit her nails as she watched the pre-game interviews. Shohoku had made it to the national championships. Most of the students at school were proud that they made it to the nationals, but no one was really expecting them to be fighting for the national throne. Keijiro was the biggest skeptic of all, but she retorted, "Well, I believe they can. We have a speedy point guard, a strong center, they trained Aoi-kun to not miss a single jumpshot and we have Rukawa-kun, who's good at everything. Rukawa-kun will pull the team through." And she was right. After passing his remedial tests with flying colors, Kaede fought hard in the games. It was a joy to watch his drive and talent.

"Rukawa-kun, are you nervous?" The girl interviewing him was from a local school. She was pretty with shiny, perfectly-curled hair and thick lashes. Apparently she was the president of the RFC in Hiroshima—they have their own chapter there. Kaede only shook his head in response.

"You've been associated with lightning and thunder, dubbed with all sorts of nicknames, The Thunder Runner, The Bolt of Wrath, The God of Thunder. How do you feel about that?" She gave his arm a gentle push. Sakura stopped biting her nail when she felt a sudden heaviness in her heart.

"Okay, I guess. I don't really think about it."

The girl giggled flamboyantly and Sakura felt the weight in her heart get heavier, and all the more when the girl began rubbing Kaede's arm, "Oh, you are so funny."

Watching the exchange made Sakura feel very strange. She felt sad and angry at the same time. She was upset and furious and confused and irritated and depressed and annoyed. She felt a mix of negative emotions at once. It was very odd.

"I'm surprised he has not gone out with one of these girls yet. They're not bad looking at all." Her mother said, watching the interview from the kitchen. Sakura felt so angry at the remark, but strove to speak calmly through gritted teeth, "He's not so shallow as to fall for a pretty face that easy, mom." Her mother only shrugged.

When Sakura turned back to the TV, she saw that Kaede had walked away and she felt her worries ease. The mixed emotions were still there but they began to dissipate. The camera still focused on Kaede's retreating form and as she watched his back, she felt her heart quicken and a warmth spread through her, rising from her neck to her cheeks.

_What is wrong with me? _She began biting her nails again, questioning herself for the weird flurry of emotions just now.

_...It can't be that I...?_

An hour passed and Sakura found herself on the edge of her seat, her brother and her mom were on the couch next to her, getting into the game as well. The TV blared loudly from the squeals and cheers in the stadium somewhere in Hiroshima. And now, the team was on the last few seconds of the championship game with Sannoh, the most important match of all.

"Rukawa-sempai is very good, ne?" Ichiro said with admiration. "I want to be that good at something someday." She smiled at her brother, it's nice that he looks up to Kaede. Kaede is very good at what he does and she was so proud of the team, proud of how well Kaede has done. The warmth returned to her cheeks as she thought of him.

The game was currently at a tie, 97 to 97. It was on the last quarter with 24 seconds on the clock, the ball on Shohoku's court. Sakura was so nervous, her palms were all clammy, her forehead sweaty and she could feel the tears beginning to well up in her eyes. _They are so close..._

The whistle blew and the game resumed. Riyota passed the ball to Kaede and instead of making a shot, the ace just stood behind the three-point line, dribbling the ball slowly, just standing there. "What is he doing, Nee-chan?"

_Twenty seconds on the clock. _He was just standing there. He pointed to Hanamichi under the hoop, then pointed to Aoi and Riyota, waving his hand as if asking them to move back. "Nee-chaaan..." Ichiro sat stiff on the couch, covering his ears, bracing himself for what's next.

_Fourteen seconds on the clock._ He still stood there. The guy guarding him backed up a little, bracing himself for an attack. The crowd roared loudly and Sakura could feel the goosebumps on her arm, could hear her heart beating loudly in her ears.

_Nine seconds on the clock. _Kaede still did not move! Sakura could no longer stay on her seat. She stood close to the TV, her hands found her mouth and she whispered, "Rukawa-kun, what are you doing?"

_Five seconds on the clock. _Finally, Kaede began to charge forward. Sakura's eyes darting from the clock to him. Defense was tight and just when the guy guarding Kaede backed up some more, Kaede stopped and made a three-point shot...perfectly elevated, perfectly arced...SCORE!

97-100. The crowd went wild. There were squeals and shouts all over the stadium. In their home, Ichiro cheered and Sakura fell to her knees and sobbed in joy. Through tear-stained eyes, she watched as Ayako kissed Riyota who clung on to Kaede's neck. She saw Hanamichi body-bump Aoi and unexpectedly hug his greatest rival and the team's hero. She could see Coach Anzai in the background remove his glasses to wipe the tears in his eyes and Akagi, with his face drenched in tears, rubbing Kaede's head.

Shohoku is now truly the number one team in all of Japan! What a victory! What a victory indeed. Yet Kaede did not laugh or cheer and rejoice with his teammates, all he did was smile a little, indifferent to the brouhaha around him. The camera focused on him, the announcers gushing about his performance, then they played replays again and again. She felt her heart flutter watching his precision. They showed his records: 38 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, 9 steals. It switched back live and it featured Kaede drinking water at the Shohoku bench, ignoring all the reporters that flocked to him.

Sakura let out a giggle, feeling her cheeks get warmer and warmer. "Sempai truly is incredible, ne, Nee-chan?" Her heartbeat drummed louder and louder in her ears, "He is. He really is."

And then an odd thought came to Sakura's mind: she ought to start reading Shakespeare.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The team celebrated their victory at a Karaoke bar near their hotel in the city of Hiroshima. Some members of the Ryonan and Kainan teams were there too to celebrate with the new pride of Kanagawa. Riyota, Hanamichi, Kiyota, Ayako, Gori's sister and even Sendoh were taking turns with the mic but Kaede was too occupied with his phone to take part in the festivities.

"Congratulations, Rukawa-kun and to the number one team in Japan!" Her text said. Short, simple, but it was enough to make his heart do back-flips.  
"Thanks. Are you home?" It had become his habit to check on her, make sure she's safe.  
"Yes, watching the team's post-victory interview on TV. Hanamichi is hogging the mic, he must be very happy."  
"He is. It's not good to be around him when he's happy."  
"Why?"  
"He likes to sing and his singing is not good." Kaede glanced at Hanamichi caterwauling to some Yui songs.  
"Haha. Are you guys celebrating with karaoke then?"  
"Yes. Ryonan and Kainan are here too. It's really noisy."  
"Did you eat anywhere?"  
"We ordered food but it seems the monkeys ate them all." Kiyota and Hanamichi had some eating contest going on, which was dumb. They paid the price by spending quite some time in the men's room.  
"Haha. I hear Hanamichi eats a lot." Came her response and Kaede could not help but chortle, making the other team members glance and stare at him as if he grew another head. He ignored his team's stares and snickering, he typed, "Not as much as you."  
"Rukawa-kun, did you just call me fat?!"  
"No. I just said that you eat more than monkey." This would be the first time he's commented about her appetite.  
"Then...does that make me a pig?"  
"I don't think you're a pig." He pressed send. _You're amazing. _Kaede typed again, but in English this time, he sent, "I think you're swell."  
Her response took a little longer to arrive, and Kaede snickered a bit more when he received it, "Okay, I just looked up 'swell' and I feel bloated and fat now." She was so clueless.  
"You're not fat." How can she think she's fat when anyone with an eye can see she barely has any despite that large appetite of hers.  
"Maybe I should get liposuction. Ha ha."  
Kaede rolled his eyes, "You look fine. You don't need it."

"Oi, so you're chatting with her, huh?" Sendoh plopped into the seat next to him, smiling as always.  
Kaede feigned ignorance, "Huh? Who?"

"Ichihana. I can tell by the way you're smiling like an idiot." He chuckled and took a sip from his can of lemon soda. Kaede glared at him, he hated being reminded that she and Sendoh knew each other before. "I don't know what you're talking about." Kaede said coldly and turned back to his phone.

"Puh-lease. I have a girlfriend, I know what it's like to like a girl."

Suddenly, Kaede felt a lot lighter, better. _He has a girlfriend? Good. He's no threat. _He felt more comfortable asking the question that's been in his head for a while now, "How do you know Ishihara?"

"Ishihara? Oh, that's right. That's her name. I'm not good with names." Sendoh laughed, sticking out his tongue and scratching his head. But Kaede only scowled in impatience.

Sendoh turned back to him, ignoring his angry face, "She has not told you then? Bummer, I guess I'm not as popular as I thought." His shoulders dropped and he took another sip of his soda, "Anyway, she was my lowerclassman in junior high."

Kaede waited for him to say more but Sendoh was too busy watching Hanamichi and Kiyota duet on some song Kaede did not know. "And?" He asked impatiently.

Sendoh turned back to him with a dumb look on his face, "And what?"  
"And what else?" Kaede barked.  
"And nothing, she was my lowerclassman."  
Kaede huffed. _This guy is frustrating.  
_"Ah, I get it. You're digging for information." Sendoh chuckled and Kaede glared at him. "Judging from how you're acting, I would guess that this is the first time you've liked a girl."  
"Shut up, do'ahu." Kaede turned away from him, pretending to focus on the karaoke machine.  
"You clearly know nothing about courtship."  
Kaede felt his face burn, "J-just sh-shut up, will you?"  
"The way you're acting just further proves me right, you know?"  
Kaede turned silent and Sendoh took another sip of his soda.

"Do you see her as a trophy?"Sendoh was looking serious now. His question was vague but Kaede thought he knew what Sendoh meant and scowled in response, "I'm not a shit bag if that's what you mean."

"Then what do you want from her?"

Kaede paused, unknowingly staring at the space next to Sendoh's ear. _I want her...just her. I want to be the one who makes her happy. _

It was a rhetorical question. Sendoh smiled and he spoke again,"I don't really know her. But I saw her cry a lot before...something about her dad...She always looked sad and miserable. Then one year, she just stopped crying. Even when people beat her so hard, she did not shed a tear." Kaede thought he knew exactly why that was. She's not very different from her own mother after all.

Sendoh emptied his drink and crushed the can, "It seems she grew a tough shell. You might have a hard time softening that up. She won't cry for anyone anymore. It's kind of sad, don't you think? People need to feel too—Oi, look, no one's singing, my turn again!" Sendoh raised his arm and ran up to get the mic. _Do'ahu. _

Kaede found himself staring at the crushed can of soda he left. He felt his resolve grow stronger.

Kaede checked his phone again, it shows that he's missed a call. He must have not heard it from all the racket in the room. He pressed a button and it showed it was from an unknown number. His phone began to ring again, from the same unknown number. He looked around for a moment, everyone seemed to be occupied drinking, talking, playing pool and darts, so he just stepped out wordlessly.

"Hello?"

"Hello Kaede Rukawa." The person spoke English, a voice unfamiliar to Kaede. "This is Andrew Dawkins. I'm calling in behalf of Stanford University..."

**The final seconds of the championship game with Sannoh here is very much inspired from my man Jeremy Lin's winning shot during the Knicks vs Raptors game in February of 2012. That shot was EPIC!  
And to those asking about Sendoh and Sakura, that's basically the extent of their relationship. They're acquaintances, nothing more. I don't want her to be in every SD character's business, because she's her own.  
Anyway, I'm on a school break! Crossing my fingers I get to finish this soon while school's out...but, damn it, I have severe writer's block. Inspire me with your reviews. ;) Bis später.**


	22. Chapter 22

The beginning of February welcomed a warmer climate. It seems spring is coming earlier this year than the last year. Last year, Japan faced a five-month winter, filled with heavy snow. This year, it only snowed for a week and never again.

Sakura walked to school with Chisa who kept gushing about how she loved February because of Valentine's Day. "Love is in the air!" Chisa shouted, her voice echoing in the neighborhood they were walking through. "I'm thinking of surprising Daiki on the fourteenth. I'll personally bring him chocolates in the middle of his class in university."

"The fourteenth? But that's a Friday. You'll miss school." Sakura said in half-hearted concern. No matter what she says Chisa will do whatever she wants anyway when it comes to Daiki. "It's just one day. It doesn't matter. I'd rather spend that day with my beloved rather than sit through a day in school watching couples get all lovey-dovey."

"How about you, do you have any plans on Valentine's Day? Are you _finally_ going to give _someone _chocolates?" Chisa said, skipping ahead of Sakura. Chisa asks her the same question every year since they entered junior high, but Sakura has never participated in the tradition.

This year though, Sakura finds herself in a daze at the thought. Strange feelings came to surface and she's once again afraid and anxious.

"No. Not really." She replied softly, almost hesitantly. Chisa turned back to smile and raise an eyebrow at her, "Not giving _anyone _any chocolates then?"

The image of Kaede was stuck in her head. Heat rose to her cheeks and her heart began to race. _This is bad. _She realized just recently that she liked him, and as each day passes she realizes just how badly she's fallen. In the past week's study sessions, which they continued because of finals coming up, she was withdrawn, strained, anxious. She kept the sessions brief because she didn't trust herself around him anymore, but primarily, she does not want her feelings to grow as it will only create false expectations and empty hopes.

But it seems she's too late. She dove into it all headfirst. She can't un-know him, trash the bond they've forged, or forget about it altogether. No. He's become too precious to her to let go. She does not want to not know him or not be with him. She wants to continue to help him out when he needs her, to continue to support his dreams, to cheer him on and encourage him and see him improve...and selfishly, she wants him to be with her in hers.

_But to what end? There are no happy ever afters. _She looked up at Chisa who was smiling brightly, waiting for her response..._Not for her anyway._

"No." Sakura said flatly.

"Eh?" Chisa gasped, "Not even Rukawa-kun?"

Sakura shot Chisa a look of alarm. And as if reading her thoughts, Chisa grinned, "I'm your bestfriend of ten years. It's the first time you've ever acted like this, of course I can tell." She wiggled her finger in front of Sakura's face, "You can't hide anything from me, Sakura-chaaan."

Sakura kept quiet. She can't deny it but she didn't want to admit it either. Chisa turned to face the road again and they kept walking.

"To be honest, I was surprised when I finally connected the dots. I didn't think he was your type—not that I know what your type is. But I didn't think you'd fall for the guy every girl falls for, you know. I always thought you had some high standard or something..." Chisa mused, whilst staring at the sky.

Sakura listened but did not say anything. The truth is, she did not have a type. She did not have anything. She did not care. Romance was hardly a goal. She just wanted to help her mom, finish school, take care of little animals.

Chisa sighed, "But then I realized, maybe it's not you. You've never been one to settle for any less—you stress over the slightest mistakes: at one missed point in a test. So maybe your standards have always been there. Then maybe it was Rukawa-kun that managed to meet them somehow..." Chisa turned to peek at Sakura, who was glaring at the ground as she walked, "Am I right?"

Sakura shook her head, "No. I have no standard, Chisa." She gave her friend a soft smile.  
Chisa looked utterly shocked, "If you didn't have a standard, then why didn't you just start dating Keijiro-kun, who's been head over heels for you for a long time now? Or that other guy, whose name I can't remember? Why Rukawa-kun? Why do you like him? I refuse to believe you've gotten caught in the hype just like everybody else just because he looks good or that he's a great basketball player. The Sakura I know is not like that." She sounded very upset but Sakura can only think and reflect on what she said.

For years she's ignored the prospect of romance, but this time, she has not been able to avoid it. What is the one thing about him that drew her in, that held her captive and thus doomed her to heartbreak? "I guess...it's because he has substance." She thought of how he dreams big and how he works hard to achieve them, how he is loyal and sweet and secretly caring and kind. Sakura's heart drummed hard against her chest at the thought, and tingles ran up and down her spine.

Chisa smirked, "Hmph, that reasoning is so _you. _Well, I think you should give him chocolates anyway."

"To what end?"

"Well, maybe he'll return your feelings."

"There is a very low probability of that ever happening. You know what he does when he's not sleeping? Playing basketball."

"And studying with you."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "The guy only has feelings for basketball."

They turned the corner and entered Shohoku high. Chisa grinned, "Just give it a shot."

-o-o-o-o-o-

It was 8pm, four hours before Valentines' Day. Ichiro and Sakura were alone again that night. Their mother had the late afternoon shift and she won't be coming home for another hour. In the beginning, Ichiro used to whine a lot but they've gotten used to it now.

Sakura sat on the couch trying to grasp what she was reading, but she was too distracted about tomorrow. "Argh! There's nothing good on TV. It's all about Valentines'. Valentines'. Some people don't care, you know." Ichiro, who sat next to her, groaned. "What about that one show you liked to watch?" Sakura suggested. Ichiro raised an eyebrow at her, "It's a Thursday. They only have that show on Wednesdays."

"Is that so?"

Ichiro scooted closer to her and examined her closely. "What's up with you?" He said, raising his thick brow. Sakura turned away from him, "Nothing, buzz off."

"What are you reading?"

"English literature. It's none of your business."

He pouted, "Fine. I guess I'll just go to bed early. Oyasumi..." He called as he stomped his way up the stairs.

As soon as he left, Sakura realized, she wanted him back to keep her company. Alone, all sorts of devises pertaining Valentine's Day are coming into her head. Maybe she ought to go to bed early too.

Just then the doorbell rang. _Odd, who could be coming over at this hour? _She opened the door and found a grinning Chisa, carrying grocery bags and what looked like an overnight backpack, already welcoming herself in through the gate. "What are you doing here at this hour?" Sakura inquired.

"You, my friend, will make honmei choco with me." Chisa said, pushing through the door and heading to the kitchen.

"What?"

"I thought, does Sakura know how to make chocolates for Rukawa-kun? No. You've never had to make chocolates for anyone before. So, I figured, I'll make my chocolates for Daiki here, while I teach you how." She said, unloading the bags.

"But...I'm not making chocolates Chisa-chan. I told you."

Chisa turned to her, planting her hand on her hip and shooting her an incredulous look, "What are you talking about? Of course you are. Now here, help me with this. It's actually very easy. First, we melt the chocolate." Chisa ratted on. She does not know how Chisa managed to convince her, but Sakura found herself blindly obeying her orders.

Sakura decided to stop overthinking things and just try, as Chisa suggested—Chisa wouldn't stop now that she's already here, so might as well go with it. It might be extremely stupid whatsoever, but right now all she could think of was the hope of making him smile. And god, did she love his smile. _It's most handsome..._she thought, feeling the heat rise up to her cheeks.

"Make it your own. What kind of chocolate do you think will he like?" Chisa said, as she mixed the batter for her chocolate truffles. Sakura was unknowingly staring at the smudge of chocolate on Chisa's cheek, thinking about Kaede's favorite snacks. _He really likes Pocky for some reason, _she thought fondly. All these little things about him are so endearing.

Ayumi came home when Sakura and Chisa were just finishing up their creations. When Ayumi walked in the kitchen, she expressed surprise and delight for having Chisa over and Chisa immediately jumped into talking about her Valentine's plans.

"Sakura-chan made chocolates too, I see." Ayumi said. She was smiling but Sakura could sense a slight coldness in her tone. "Are they for Rukawa-kun?" Ayumi turned to Chisa who nodded eagerly. "For the first time, Ayumi-san, Sakura-chan likes someone!"

Sakura remained silent. Her mind still in a daze. She wondered if she was that obvious since her mom was able to tell as well. Could they read her actions? She barely did anything different. Could they tell from the way she spoke? Could they read her thoughts? She thought about him a lot the past weeks. She found herself struggling to fight of her daydreaming, but sometimes, it was easier to indulge. _I'm being really careless..._

To her surprise, Ayumi did not say more. She just had this pensive look on her face as she listened to Chisa's stories about who Kaede is—about the fireworks and his basketball prowess—and how she could tell of Sakura's crush on him and then more stories of her and Daiki. It made Sakura nervous a little bit that her mother wasn't saying anything...it's the first time she's ever done anything like this, and she seeks to have her mother's approval.

Nonetheless, her silence only meant Sakura now had fewer apprehensions about the matter. Sakura went to bed with a small smile on her face, hoping that Kaede would like her gift.

In the morning, Chisa left early to catch the first train to Tokyo. She bade Sakura a quick farewell, "Don't be afraid. Nothing risked, nothing gained. Just give it to him and tell him how you feel. I'm sure he'll like that." Chisa took Sakura in her arms for a bearhug. "Good luck. Well, I got to go, let me know how it goes for you!" She rushed out the door leaving traces of her perfume, which she practically bathed in today for Daiki. Sakura had considered spraying some on as well but Ichiro had commented that the smell would more likely drive Daiki away. She did, however, put on some lip gloss.

Sakura finished her breakfast and stuffed the box of chocolates in her bag, trying not to overthink things. She'll decide how to give it to him when she gets there. Right now, she just has to get to school and carry on as usual. Ayumi was there, watching her put on her shoes. She helped Sakura with her coat and handed her a nice scarf. Quietly, she spoke, "I once chased a guy before. Gave him chocolates and everything...Well, we all know how that turned out." Ayumi smiled sadly. The air was tense with Ayumi's skepticism. "I don't want you to get hurt...before you do anything rash, just make sure that he's worth it."

Sakura felt a little relieved that her mother had finally said something about the matter. But just as she thought, it only made her worry. For the first time that night, Sakura felt nervous. She has not really considered the consequences of her actions. Favorable results, unfavorable results? Indeed, she wanted Kaede to like her gift, but she has not thought of how to react if he does...or if he doesn't. She had jumped into all this blindly, without a thought for what's to happen. Now, she is realizing just how very daunting it is.

When she arrived in school, she noticed that a lot of the girls were staring out the window—girls who raise the banners of the RFC. She was about to enter the school building when some girls shouted, "He's here!" Sakura turned around and saw Kaede asleep on his bike driving in the school grounds. A chorus of squeals rang in the air. Sakura felt her insides churn, heat rising up to her face and she ran inside the building and hid in her classroom. _Nope. Now's not the time. Maybe later..._

When she visited her locker that day, she noticed that Kaede's had a bunch of Valentines' cards stuck to them. During lunch, while she was headed out with Hoshi, Ryusuke and Keijiro to eat at a nearby canteen, they encountered Kaede in the hall being gifted with honmei choco by at least fifteen girls. He rejected them all and simply walked past them. Some of the girls wept while others said they will not give up. Witnessing the scene made Sakura even more nervous. She was running out of time. Chisa's constant texts pressured her to get it done immediately but she has not gathered enough courage yet.

"Nothing risked, nothing gained," came Chisa's text. Sakura ended up skipping lunch. And she ditched her friends to head back to school. "Where are you going?" Hoshi called.  
"Um. I just need to do something."

It was the perfect time. The hallways were deserted during lunch, save for a few people. Sakura held the box of chocolates against her chest as she stalked the halls in search of him. _He's either on the roof or in the gym..._

She climbed up the stairs and heard voices from above.

Sakura heightened her senses and from beyond the corner she heard a female voice, "Rukawa-kun, I _really, really _like you. Please accept my gift."

Sakura took a peek. She could not see the girl's face but she saw the indifference on Kaede's, "No thank you." He said, then walked away. Another girl, who was standing a few steps away, ran up to him to block his way and presented her gift, "I'm not asking anything in return. I just wish you would accept my gift and feelings for you."

"Isn't that asking me for something still?" Kaede said coldly and walked away. _He's so cold and harsh..._

Just then, Sakura realized that Kaede was heading her way. She froze and panicked. _Do I give it to him now? What do I do? Oh man, I wish Chisa was here! _She felt her insides turn topsy-turvy, her heart threatening to break out of its cage, thick beads of sweat dripped down her forehead, and her feet felt like lead drilled to the ground. She's never been this nervous before.

She heard his footsteps draw closer and closer. She tried to will herself to just go for it, but in the end, she found no courage, afraid it would hurt. In panic, she rushed back down the stairs. But before she could disappear, he'd already seen her, "Ishihara," he called. A chill went up Sakura's spine and she thought her arms just turned into jelly.

"What are you doing here? Did you go eat? " He asked, ever so caring. She hoped he didn't notice the blush that burned her face.

"I-I was...just...um...counting the s-steps...of these stairs." _Oh my gosh. Kill me now. That is so lame. _

He raised his eyebrow. His eyes traveling to the box she held in her hands and she moved to hide the box behind her.

"J-just student council duties." Sakura laughed nervously, "Well, see you later." She ran off and hid in the bathroom for the rest of lunch.

_I can't. I can't do it..._He won't take it anyway, just as he hasn't taken any of those other girls' gifts._ As his friend, he'll probably get mad at me. He'll probably think I turned into one of them..._This is all so pointless and stupid. _Why did I even bother..._


	23. Chapter 23

**Bonjour, mes amis. This is a continuation of what happened on Valentine's day.**

Sakura slammed her bedroom door and dropped her bag on the floor. She went home immediately after school. She'd texted Kaede she wasn't going to meet him for their study session today. She didn't want to see him. She was mad at him...no, she was mad at herself. Mad at herself for not being able to give her gift to him. Mad at herself for even wanting to give him anything. Mad at herself for liking someone unreachable. Mad at herself for being stupid enough to fall for a dear friend.

There will be no happy ending for her...Kaede's just too focused on basketball to care and he has too many women chasing after him...He's probably waiting for the best one to come along. And what does she have? She does not even compare to any of these girls fawning after him. They're all so pretty and polished, and her? She does not even know how to fix her own hair.

Sakura stared at her reflection in the vanity mirror that stood by the door. Hair so bland, eyes too big, eyebrows too bushy. She had no patience for hair curling and she had no idea how to use any of those hair products, besides the fact that they're only an unnecessary added cost. Then eyebrow-plucking is just too painful...

Her skin was too pale—all the other girls were rosy-cheeked. She wanted to look like them. They said tomatoes will help, so she ate tomatoes a lot but nothing really changed. She tried to borrow one of Chisa's make-up things once, and she ended up looking like she got slapped.

She's not cute like the other girls. She was tall—gigantic—and really skinny. Her legs looked like sticks. She's not shapely like the other girls. She barely has a bottom and she barely has breasts.

_What was I thinking? _Sakura plopped on her bed. Popular as Kaede, he'd look for a girl that's absolutely gorgeous. A girl who matches him in looks and status, someone who's cool like him and shares his love for basketball. That's not her. They belong to opposite ends of the social compass—he's a popular jock and she's just a Math nerd. It's like being on opposite ends of the number line—in no universe will a positive ever sit with a negative. And when they meet halfway, they become zero—they become nothing, nada, nil—empty, bland. In an X and Y graph, they'll still be separated by a comma. It can never work.

Sakura groaned into her pillow. She seriously needs to stop being delusional.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Kaede was on his way home after Sakura texted she wasn't meeting him today. He blared Uverworld on his music player as he drove. He was worried and frustrated and blasting music would match exactly what he felt right now.

He wondered why Sakura didn't meet him this afternoon. _What could have happened? To whom did she give that box to? Who does she like? Was it Honda? Was it someone else? Either way, did he accept? Are they out on a date right now? _All these unanswered questions made him angrier and angrier. He's jealous, he realizes that. For a second there, he hoped it was for him, but then she walked away. That moment he thought, what would he not give to the universe to have her turn around and present to him her gift?

Kaede turned the corner at the hospital and into the alley that was a short cut to his apartment but he suddenly found the road blocked by a group of four guys. They didn't look like they were from Shohoku. They all wore different uniforms. Uniforms from schools that, if he remembers correctly, are located all the way across town.

"Rukawa." One of them hissed, a big guy with a goatee. They were all glaring at him. Kaede knew a fight when he sees one. Whoever these guys are, whatever they want from him, he was not in the mood. He was too busy beating up the faceless guy Sakura gave her gift to in his head. He began turning his bike around, but he found two more guys already blocking his way.

_Damn. Six against one? Wusses._

He pulled out his earphones and glared back sharply at them, "Who are you and what do you guys want?" Kaede asked, his eyes darting from one guy to another as they each stalked towards him. One short guy with spiked hair cracked his knuckles, "We're here to exact revenge."

"Revenge? On what exactly?" _Bastards. _No matter how he tries to live life peacefully, quietly, just minding his own business idiots always come along saying he's wronged them somehow. Kaede sighed, _what must a guy do to get his peace and quiet? _

"Don't act dumb, you show off!" A guy with hideously bleached hair waved a finger in Kaede's face. "Because of you and all your fancy basketball tricks, all our girlfriends broke up with us!" He cried, revealing braces on his teeth. Kaede noticed the others started weeping as well and Goatee guy spoke once more, "They said, if they were available then maybe they'd have a chance with you!"

"We didn't even get any chocolates today!"

Kaede rolled his eyes, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm not interested." _Honestly, girls can get so carried away with fluctuating emotions that they don't think reasonably. _Has he not shown his disinterest enough? _Anyway, I already have someone in mind..._

"That doesn't really change the fact that we're all girlfriend-less, doesn't it? So prepare to face our wrath." Spike bumped his fists together. _Really, a fight over chocolates? How is this my fault?_ Shouldn't they channel their anger to the girls who broke their hearts? Kaede sighed, _everyone wants someone to blame_. They're already angry and reason has gone beyond them. Funny how irrationality breeds irrationality.

"Prepare to die, bastard!" said Spike. "I'll bust that pretty face of yours!" followed Bleach. They both attacked so suddenly. As Kaede was about to react, the other two behind him grabbed on to his neck and tossed him off his bike. His head hit the dumpster but instead of focusing on the pain, the first thought that came to mind was, _how disgusting. _He'll have to take a long bath when he gets home.

Kaede's sight was spotted with black and he struggled to get back up in his dizzy state. He heard the footsteps of one of the guys coming towards him and out of reflex, he elbowed the guy in the throat and the guy immediately fell to the ground_, _choking.

"Oi! Jinichi, you okay?" His buddies called out to him, but he was too choked up to respond. Kaede smiled inwardly at the pun in his head. Braces started running up to him, yelling as he threw a punch. Despite his lack of focus, Kaede managed to block it and hit him in the mouth. His braces caused his mouth to bleed instantly and he stepped back, hands on his swollen, bleeding mouth.

Kaede thought he could buy time to recover from his dizziness, expecting Braces' friends to check on him but instead three of them charged forward suddenly. Kaede had a hard time focusing; his vision was still dotted with black spots and his eyes hurt from the light. But he did what he would normally do in this situation: punch and kick until he hits someone. He managed to kick one hard in the chest, but Spike and Bleach locked Kaede's arms behind him and the one choking earlier had gotten up to keep a tight hold on his neck, "It's you who will choke this time."

Goatee grinned and aimed to throw a punch at Kaede but, having his legs free, Kaede kicked the guy in the gut and he simultaneously felt his arms being stretched unnaturally backwards and the grip around his neck got tighter. He was pushed to his knees and his arms twisted in unnatural forms. Goatee reeled over and got up panting, "Bastard!" He threw another punch. It landed on Kaede's jaw. _It hurts..._Kaede tasted blood in his mouth.

Strangely, the only thought that ran through his head at the moment was of what Sakura told him before: "Ferrous sulfate or iron. We have it in our blood, if you've ever gone to the dentist, you would have been able to taste it. It doesn't taste very good." She is right. The thought of her made him temporarily forget the pain. Kaede smirked at the thought. He looked back up and beheld Goatee looking annoyed, "Why are you smiling?" When Kaede did not respond, another guy came out of nowhere and hit him in the stomach, making Kaede cough and spit out the blood that was in his mouth.

_It hurts._

Kaede heard yelling and saw Braces carrying a thin metal rod. He hit Kaede on the side of his head and he felt a thick liquid drip down his cheek. It smelled just like how it tasted. But Kaede's vision was almost completely black now and he could barely hear anything. Someone landed another punch on the face and Kaede took several more blows on the head, chest and stomach before they finally left him alone, laughing as they went, "God of Thunder no more."

He woke up in a hospital bed. One eye was clearly swollen as it limited his vision. But he barely felt any pain or anything at all except that his jaw felt numb. He was still in his uniform so it must have not been that long, but it was already dark outside. When he looked over, he found Sakura's mom frowning and writing something on a clip board. He got up slowly, and he realized, there too was numbness in his chest and stomach.

"Oi, Rukawa-kun. Don't get up so soon. Just lie down for a bit." Ayumi said, pushing him back down on the bed. _That's right, she's a nurse. That's why she's here_. It must have been quite a blow to the head for his thoughts to be all muddied.

"What happened? How did I get here?"

"You came in the emergency room and collapsed there. You've lost a lot of blood and it seems you have a concussion." She scribbled something on her clip board. "I gave you some pain relievers to ease the pain. But do you feel like vomiting? Are you nauseous? Do you remember anything from what happened?"

"I'm fine. And there were just a bunch of dumb guys who wanted someone to blame for their misfortunes." It was hard to talk, his jaw felt heavy.

"Were they from Shohoku?"

"No, they were from somewhere else."

He tried to get up again and was once again forced back down, "You might have a mild concussion, you need to rest for at least a day and avoid strenuous activity—at least until we know for sure everything's okay in your head. You'll get a CT scan done tomorrow and we'll know what to do next from there."

_Tomorrow? _Kaede was glad he filled Sancho's bowl with catfood before he left, at least he won't go hungry.

"I told Sakura you're here so she can let your Obasan know."

"Sakura..." Kaede began wistfully. Ayumi only raised her brow at him. He knew she didn't trust him and that she didn't take him seriously. He had been wanting to make her understand and he thought, now is as good a time as any, "I know you don't trust me. But whatever kind of person you think I am, I am not like that. I will not hurt her, Ishihara-san. I swear it."

His jaw felt very heavy, but he just had to make her understand, "Sakura...she's very important to me. I like her so incredibly much...I will not hurt her. I promise you that." He thought he saw Ayumi's mask of indifference break.

"What do you want from her, Rukawa-kun?" Ayumi said, her tone serious now.

"Huh?" _Odd. Didn't Sendoh ask somewhat the same question? _Is this normal? Do people normally ask this question to someone who likes somebody?

"Why are you pursuing her?" Ayumi asked again.

Kaede was befuddled, "What do you mean? I find that question absolutely absurd. Why else would anyone pursue the person they like at all? Is it not so they can stay together til the end?"

Ayumi looked taken aback and he thought he saw the coldness in her eyes ease, "You are serious about her then?" Kaede frowned and closed his eyes, "Why would I pursue anyone I'm not serious about? That's a waste of time." He huffed and rubbed his jaw. Ayumi did not say anything so he took it as invitation to say more, "It may sound crazy but I would very much like to spend every waking moment with her."

The initial shock on Ayumi's face turned into a warm smile. A true, genuine smile. It was a miracle. Feelings of ease and triumph rushed through him—similar to that of when he makes a great shot in basketball.

Before Ayumi could say anything else, Sakura barged in the room, "Rukawa-kun!" She called. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of her. She was still in her school uniform and then he noticed that her cheeks were drenched in tears. She came to his bedside and, with her voice raised, she asked every question there was to ask. Her tears continued to fall but Ayumi only smiled and reassured her that he's going to be okay.

"I'll be ending my shift soon and I still have to go do some more rounds. I'll see you in a bit." Ayumi said cheerfully and walked out of the room.

Kaede sat up and Sakura turned to glare at him, tears welling and pouring from her big gray eyes. Was it terrible of him to think she looks cute when she's so angry, she's crying?

"You...how could you get yourself hurt like this?" She sobbed and wiped her tears with her sleeve.

"It's not like I go look for fights. They come to me for some reason." Kaede said. Sakura sobbed harder in response, hiding her face behind her hands.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because!" She sniffed, "I don't want you to get hurt!"

_She's crying for me...Does that mean...the tough shell's gone?_

"And I thought getting better at basketball would get me out of fights. Turns out I'll get in one either way." Kaede joked to calm her. He heard Sakura sob and laugh at the same time. She raised her arms as if going for an embrace, but then she pulled them back and rubbed her eyes and wiped her cheeks instead. His heart sank, he would have liked a hug.

"Stop crying now. I'm okay."

Sakura sniffed and sat on the bed next to him, pointing at his face, "One eye is bruised, the other one's swollen. Your jaw is swollen, your head wounded. How can you be okay?"

"I really am. Don't worry. I don't say anything I don't mean."

Sakura still looked worried, then she reached in her bag and tossed him a box wrapped in white wrapping paper, and tied with a white ribbon, "Here." She said.

Kaede examined the box. This was the box she carried earlier. Eagerly, he untied the ribbon and opened the box. He wasted no time in taking a bite of what she's made. Though it hurt to eat with his swollen jaw, he forced himself to taste and savor her creation. They were chocolate-covered biscuits, reminding him a bit of Pocky.

"I wasn't able to give it to..." She paused. "Um..." Kaede looked up, she was staring at the floor. Her face was pink, but she looked sad and worried...and then it hit him, "Wait, is this meant for some other guy?"

She turned back to him, looking all shocked.

"I don't want to eat chocolate you made for some other guy!" His voice was louder than usual. He grew angry at the thought that this gift she'd given him, she'd labored to make it for someone else—not him. It's honmei choco for someone else, now he's eating it as giri-choco.

Sakura struggled for words, her face flushed, "Y-you...y-you're...you're already eating it anyway! Might as well finish it." She said.

_This is her labor of love..._Well, Kaede figured, whoever he is, he's not going to let him enjoy it. He's not going to let him have _any _of it. Though it hurt so bad to eat, Kaede stuffed the snacks quickly in his mouth.

"So, who's the guy?" He asked in between bites. He has to know what he's up against.

Sakura smiled sadly, looking down on her lap. "It doesn't matter."

Not knowing frustrated him, but he wasn't going to let it show. "Why didn't you give it to him?"

"I was afraid," came her response. She looked really bummed. A part of him felt bad with her, but a bigger part of him felt victorious. He was glad this guy didn't get to enjoy her creation, glad he doesn't see how beautiful she is, glad to know he has not lost, glad that instead of being with anybody else, she is here with him, right now, all to himself.

She looked up again, "How is it?"

"It's delicious." Kaede smiled, he'd already gone through half the box and he decided to save the rest for later. "Really?" Sakura gasped gleefully, "Good, I'm glad."

"You should make these _for me_ next time." Kaede said, closing the box and setting them aside.

Sakura only blushed and turned away.

**I honestly don't like having to add so much of Ishihara Ayumi. She was not even in my original outline. But I decided to add her and expanded her story to such depth as a tool to develop Rukawa's _and _Sakura's character. There will be less of her from here onward.**

**The most chapters this fic will probably have is thirty, maybe even less. I definitely don't want it to go over thirty.**

***honmei choco-chocolates of love**

***giri-choco-courtesy chocolate**

**Let me know what you think of my writing/storytelling. I would very much appreciate that. Ja ne.**


	24. Chapter 24

"I'll be a little late for study today. SC stuff." Sakura sent her message.

"Don't take too long," came Kaede's response.

As much as she wants to, she can't deny the fluttering butterflies in her stomach. But recently, she's decided to pay no mind to them. When they're there, they're there. She does not have to make a big deal out of it. Hopefully, someday, it will go away and things will go back to normal and she'll just be Japan's number one basketball player's friend. _That's right_. She's okay with that.

"I still think you should have just told him the chocolates _were _for him." Chisa said, who was peeking at Sakura's phone to see Kaede's response. "In the end, I couldn't. I was afraid. But hey, he ate it and said he liked it. That's enough for me." Sakura mused, remembering how happy she felt last week when Kaede said the chocolates were delicious.

"It frustrates me that you don't want to date him." Chisa said with a pointed stare.

"I'm just happy we're friends." Sakura said as she pushed the door to the council room open, where the results of the recent student council elections were being posted. Sakura, Chisa, Keijiro and Hoshi had spent all week campaigning for her second term as president of the student council. It was extremely exhausting. Sakura worked really hard on the campaign because her competition was rough. A girl named Rimiko, from Section 2, decided to run against her. She is very outgoing, friendly and popular. Sakura feared she won't have a chance.

There were already a bunch of students inside the room, mostly the ones who ran for an office, and then a few others who were just there to watch the tallying of votes. The incumbents were there too, and they all had big smiles on their faces. "Eh? What's going on?" Chisa was the first to speak.

"Sakura-chan, you're president again next year." Kyo smirked at her and she threw them all a confused look. She glanced at the tally board and saw that it was a landslide.

"It's unanimous. The juniors all think you did a good job last year, sustaining the clubs and they all want you to be president again next year." Keijiro said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Sakura could not believe it. _But that is great news. _Sakura thought. It wasn't a victory yet though, not without the rest of her council. She looked at the board once more, Hoshi, Keijiro and Miyuki were there with her...Quick Mathematics told her that eighty percent of the votes have been counted, and the other council members led by at least fifty-five percent. They're already winners.

She turned to them and whispered, "Congratulations. Let's do our best next year." She gave her friends a thumbs up and they all smirked back at her. "Do you want to go out and celebrate?" Keijiro asked.

"Nah, she has to go meet Rukawa-kun." Chisa said, pulling Sakura away. "You need to go," She whispered to her friend. "Ah, that's right. See you guys!" Sakura ran out in a hurry.

Back in the council room, Hoshi whispers to Chisa, "Is there something going on between them?"  
Chisa only shrugged, "Knowing Sakura, I don't know."

"How'd it go?" Kaede asked as soon as she arrived in 'their' study room. He still had bandages on his forehead, but the swelling and the bruises have gone and faded. Thankfully, the guy's head was tough as a rock, the CT scan returned negative of a concussion.

"I won!" She cheered and plopped on her usual seat. "It's a miracle!" She breathed.

"How is it a miracle? Of course you'll win." Kaede had an amused smile on his face. Sakura thought he looked very handsome.

"Did you see the girl I was running against? She's friends with seventy-five percent of the junior year and even the senior and freshman year!" Sakura said, flinging her arms for emphasis.

"So?" Kaede raised an eyebrow.

"She's very popular."

"It's not a popularity vote."

"She's very pretty."

"I don't know her, but I'm sure she's got nothing you don't have better. Plus, you're very smart and you're actually a great leader."

The string of compliments from Kaede elicited a deep blush on Sakura's face. She gulped and cleared her throat, "Anyway, I'm just glad it's over. This past week has been emotionally taxing. I'm so exhausted."

Kaede just looked at her. His expression unreadable. His gaze was soft but intense and his lips were pursed to form a small smile. He smacked his lips, "Well, I don't want to stress you further. You want to go out and do something fun? Relax for a bit?"

Sakura's forehead furrowed, "What did you have in mind?"

A few minutes later, they were sitting on a rubber mat surrounded by five dogs. Sakura was petting a fuzzy one that was chewing on a bone on her lap and she kept throwing a ball for a black dog to retrieve. Kaede had two pug puppies sleeping on his lap while he bottle-fed another one.

They were in the family room of the shelter, where people looking to adopt come to connect with the animals. Normally, visitors aren't allowed to pet the animals unless they are serious about adopting, but Sakura, being a volunteer and recently the shelter's ambassador, is allowed the time and chance to do so.

Akiko of the front desk was very excited to see her back today, and with Kaede, whom she'd apparently met before, too. It was embarrassing though, she asked if they were dating and Sakura was quick to rid her of the thought, "He's my friend!"

"Boyfriend?"

"Just friend!" Sakura was red with panic. She dragged Kaede away from the scene and immediately went to get the dogs. She hoped he didn't think it weird.

"Where's the ball, Kiko-chan? Go get it!" Sakura exclaimed and the dog ran and went to retrieve the ball that went across the room. The dog came back and dropped the slobber-soaked ball by her feet. "Good job, boy!" She proceeded to rub the back of its ear.

"Oh so cute! I wish I could adopt you all." She cried. She turned to Kaede, "How are the little ones doing?"

"These two are fast asleep and this one's a fathead."

Sakura giggled, "Pugs are lazy, live-to-eat type of dogs. But they're extremely loyal. They're companion dogs. They'll follow you _everywhere_."

"You had one before?"

"I've never owned a dog. My mother wouldn't let me. But I'd like one. Maybe in the future." She looked down to smile at the poodle on her lap.

The pug on Kaede's lap finally fell back, having had its fill of milk and he cupped it in his palm and placed it next to the other puppies on his lap so they can nap together. He stroked the little guy's belly and it hiccuped before falling asleep.

"You are so gentle, who would have thought it?" Sakura turned to him, grinning. "Everyone thinks you're this rude, violent guy but in truth you would not hurt a fly."

Kaede smirked, "Unless the fly started it."

She laughed. His humor is boundless.

"Are you de-stressed yet?" Kaede asked. Sakura nodded, "Thanks. This was a great idea, by the way. The last time I came here was probably December."

_It was nice to see her in her element. _Kaede thought. He sees that with her and math, but seeing her compassion for animals was something else. It was softer, gentler—it's very endearing.

They stayed for about two hours, just playing with the dogs and then feeding them. Sakura pointed out that Sancho will be extremely upset when Kaede gets home smelling like a bunch of dogs. To which he said, "He'll have to get used to it." Sakura wondered if that meant he was going to come to the shelter more often.

They rode his bike on the way home. Today was her second time on his bike. The first time she fell asleep, but now, she was noticing all sorts of things that made her blush: the smell of sandalwood, the nice way his hair gets ruffled up by the wind, his calm breathing...She found herself yearning for more of him, but she knew feeding that longing would only lead to heartbreak.

Kaede took the boulevard road on the way home. The ocean breezes were cool but calming. The sun was beginning to set, its rays shining on the trees that lined the boulevard, revealing blossoms that signaled spring has come. Kaede swerved towards the beach.

"Eh? What are you doing?" She asked tightening her hold on his shirt to keep her balance as he turned.

"Just the beach, if you want to come along."

"Sure, I guess."

They just sat there, basking in the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the gusts of ocean winds. "So why are we here?" She asked.

"My mission is to have you de-stressed and relaxed." Kaede declared, laying back on his arms on the sand. "The ocean is always calming."

She wasn't even that stressed but she was grateful that he went through these lengths to make her feel better. _He's a good friend. _A part of her wished he had other intentions. Sakura watched him—eyes closed, hair billowing in the wind. Contrary to what she's told Chisa, deep down, she did want to be with him. She wanted to be able to touch his face and brush his hair and just hold him without the world judging her for it. But that has a very low probability of ever happening. Being his friend is all they ever will be, and that's enough for her.

Kaede peeked at her. She was almost embarrassed to have been caught staring at him. But then he opened his mouth, "We must take the current when it serves or lose our ventures." He recited in English. She didn't understand what he said. Something about losing. Something about the present,

"What does that mean?" She asked and Kaede smirked, "It's something Brutus said to Cassius in Julius Caesar."

"Ah, so it's one of your Shakespeare sonnets, huh?" Sakura raised an eyebrow and smiled. Though it was something she did not understand very well, she likes that he's very much into English literature.

"What that meant was," Kaede continued, "While they have the power, while they have the strength, they ought to grab every opportunity that knocks on their door, or else they'll find themselves stranded on miserable shallows."

Sakura paused to ponder his words. She took it as a message to keep calm and relax when there's a chance. She huffed and obliged him, laying back on the sand next to him, "Well, okay then. I shall relax while I can. This day has been quite an adventure. I was covered in slobber and fur and now I'm covered in sand."

Kaede chuckled next to her. Little did she know, he was pertaining to the opportune moments given to him to capture her heart. Sendoh said before, "Better hurry up or you lose." And here he is acting on it. He was not exactly sure if these simple things ensnared her, per se, but he figured being able to spend time and precious moments like these with her is just as good.


	25. Chapter 25

"You've grown four centimeters, Rukawa-kun." Ayako said, she was updating the players profiles in preparation for the next school year. Kaede's first thought was that he is taller than his dad now then he thought of how he can take advantage of his added height in future games. Hanamichi would still be the center, since he's still taller, but if Kaede goes to the big leagues, then this added height will surely be advantageous.

The basketball team had gathered that afternoon to play a bit and talk about the next school year. Riyota would be going off to college along with a few of the other guys in the team. They currently have seven juniors and five freshmen in the team. That number would have been okay if not for the pressure of keeping up to the name bestowed upon them, thanks to that championship they won.

"Alright, listen up." Riyota clapped, calling all the team members to gather around him. Coach Anzai, Ayako, Gori and his sister stood next to him. "I know you guys are fretting about what will happen to the team next year, but I've already gotten several calls from students of different schools, telling me they will transfer to Shohoku to join the basketball team. So there should be more members next year." Riyota turned to him, "Rukawa, can you let Sakura-chan know about this so she can plan accordingly the budget?"

Kaede nodded. Maybe he was just flattering himself, but it was nice to be the go-to person when it comes to her.

"Second order of business. We've talked among ourselves," Riyota gestured to the four that stood with him, "And we figured Kaede would be the most suitable new captain."

The assignment took Kaede by surprise—mainly because he was not really thinking about it. But to be appointed basketball captain is still a great honor and privilege.

Of course, it was only a matter of seconds before Hanamichi has another one of his outbursts, "WHY HIM?! What about me Riyochin?!"

"You'll be vice-captain. We figured, Kaede already had experience, being the team captain of Tomigaoka. But also he is disciplined and he'll know which areas need polishing and improvement." Riyota explained calmly. In his mind, Kaede thought they judged rightly.

Riyota then turned to Hanamichi, who was sulking next to Kaede. "A vice-captain's role is no less important than the captain's, Hanamichi. While Rukawa takes care of the technicalities, you will be in charge of making sure the team members are motivated."

_That makes sense, as well. _Kaede thought, humbly acknowledging that he would not fit that role, seeing as he _does _lack people skills.

Hanamichi was still sulking so Kaede turned to him, "He's right. You are better at motivating the team. It's like, you are the nucleus of this group."

"The what?" Hanamichi raised an eyebrow at him, making sure to convey his annoyance, as always.

"The nucleus. You know, the center of an atom?" As soon as he said that, he realized just how nerdy he sounded. _She's really rubbing off on me._

Ayako quickly added, "You keep the team together, Sakuragi-kun. We're depending on you!" To make him feel important is all that's needed for Hanamichi's spirits to liven up again. In an instant, he was back to his usual self, laughing and joking around.

"Finally, I know you all have finals coming up but just so everyone knows, though we are not having practices anymore, everyone is welcome in the gym to play and practice on their own so long as they clean up after themselves." He declared. "Any questions?"

There were none and the meeting adjourned. Ayako came up to him, "Rukawa-kun, I hope you can explain to Sakura-chan that the team is really expecting a huge surge of members next year. This happened to Sannoh and Kainan when they became known as great schools for basketball. So, I'm projecting, as early as now, a funds allocation that's triple of what we have now." She finished just as Riyota was coming up behind her.

"That's right. Use your charm, I'm sure she'll listen." He said. Kaede suspected he was teasing him a bit, "I'll do my best."

"Great." Ayako clapped.

Kaede began to walk away, but then he heard Riyota talk sweetly to his girlfriend, "I have something nice planned for us on White Day," He said.

The topic piqued Kaede's interest. _White Day? _That day a month after Valentines' when guys reciprocate gifts they've been given. He has not celebrated White Day ever. He has not accepted gifts from any girls, so he's never had to. But this year, he had to, not just because he had to return the gift she's given him, but especially because he wanted to dote on her—and it had to be something sizable that will leave a strong impression. Unfortunately, he did not know where to begin.

Kaede backtracked, whom better else to ask than one who's experienced and knows about his feelings already?

"Riyota," He said in almost a whisper, and the team captain halted his conversation with his girlfriend to look at him. It occurred to Kaede just how embarrassing and awkward this was going to be. He felt heat rise up from his neck to his face.

"Um...w-what do you n-normally g-give or do on W-White Day?" As if the question wasn't humiliating enough, his mouth just decided not to cooperate and embarrassed him further by making him stutter.

"Ho-ho! Rukawa-kun is making White Day plans!" Ayako clapped and rubbed her hands together, she looked excited and amused. Kaede felt his face get warmer. "Sakura-chan gave you chocolates then?" She said in a sing-song voice.

_Yes, but it wasn't the kind he wanted. He wanted it to be honmei choco. _"Sort of."

"Advancing in basketball, advancing in love, you're unstoppable." Riyota teased, a smug grin on his face. Kaede frowned and glared at the both of them. He really wished they would just answer the question already before their conversation attracts attention.

"Well," Riyota scratched his scruff, "For me, I always think about what Aya-chan would like. I always seem to get a better reaction when it's something immaterial though." Kaede recalled the Disneyland trip. That was truly priceless.

"Because, those are things that don't wilt or fade, you see."Ayako began, she's always been sensical like that."Sakura-chan doesn't seem to be the type to cling on to material things. I'm sure she'll appreciate something invaluable. In the end, I know it's cliché but it's the thought that cou—" Ayako paused abruptly to sob, "Oh, you've grown so much! You're no longer that kid in junior high that's got nothing in mind except basketball. You actually have other pursuits now! I'm so proud of you."

She sounded like a mother. But that's how she's always been to the team. She has this very strong motherly instinct. Kaede thought, if he stayed any longer, he'll get smothered by the both of them in talks about romance and courtship. So he thanked them for their advice and left.

That night, he immediately began researching and concocting his White Day plans.

-o-o-o-o-o-

White Day. Kaede walked in the study room and found Sakura poring over trigonometry equations with a smile on her face. "Why are you doing Trigonometry?" He asked as he took his usual seat.

"Because it's Pi Day! Happy Pi Day!" She said happily. It took a second for Kaede to understand, _Ah, March 14 is 3.14_.

Excitement was sprawled across her face, "Did you know that we can't really know the circumference of a circle because even though we have pi, it's an irrational number—meaning its digits will go on forever in a random sequence." Kaede nodded and smiled in response. Her enthusiasm for Math is so amusing to him.

Sakura continued her musing, "They've found 1.24 trillion digits of pi so far. The most anyone's ever memorized is 42, 195. I can only go," She paused to look up, as if trying to remember something, "3.141592653589...Yeah, that's it." She stuck her tongue out.

Kaede chuckled. Man, did he love her every little quirk.

Sakura turned back to her equations and Kaede cleared his throat, "Anyway um..." He pulled out his gift from his pocket and slid it across the table towards her. Sakura blinked, and examined the gift then looked up at him, "What's this?"

"You want to come with?" He stated, trying to gauge her reaction.

She stared back and forth from his face to the Uverworld White Day concert tickets, "Today? It's finals next week."

Kaede smirked, "Ishihara, we studied _all year_."

Sakura smiled sheepishly, "We did, didn't we?" She took the tickets in her hand, "Then, okay! Let's go!"

They made a quick stop at their homes to change out of their uniforms. Kaede noticed that the cherry blossom tree in the Ishihara yard was in full bloom and the tulips were also beginning to blossom. Ayumi was home, to Sakura's surprise. She said that she changed shifts with one of her co-workers who had to study during the day.

"Well, Rukawa-kun got concert tickets for Uverworld in Tokyo! We'll be going tonight, if that's alright." Sakura asked politely. Ayumi smiled, "That sounds fun. You enjoy yourselves."

Sakura was taken aback by her mother's immediate consent. Normally, like on Kaede's birthday, she drilled her about the details of the trip, et cetera, et cetera. This time, her mom looked quite happy about it. She wondered about the sudden change. But she was glad she had her mother's permission, "Wonderful! I'll go change now." She ran upstairs, feeling very excited to see her favorite band—and with Kaede, no less.

Kaede waited for Sakura downstairs. Ichiro was talking to him animatedly about Uncharted, a game they both played and enjoyed. In his peripheral vision, he could see Ayumi smiling at them.

"You still meant what you said?" She said, her tone pleasant, interrupting his conversation with Ichiro.

Kaede nodded, showing his resolve through his eyes, "Very much so. I _promise_."

Ayumi smiled, "To be brave enough to come to me about her, you show true commitment Rukawa-kun. Bring her home safe." Kaede felt encouraged. It was nice to have her support and permission about her daughter.

They left for Tokyo two hours early before the concert to have an early dinner. They ate at a restaurant near the Tokyo Dome and then headed inside towards their mid-row seats. He's never been to a rock concert before, and earlier he found out from Sakura that this is her first as well. It was nice to be able to share this together.

The concert started at seven sharp. As soon as the lights dimmed, with only neon lights moving about, the crowd stood and clapped and cheered wildly. Sakura and Kaede stood with them, and amid the loud music and the loud cheers, he thought he heard people complain in the back. _Sorry, can't help that we're both tall. _

Uverworld made their grand entrance and the dome filled with shouting, clapping and squealing. The fast-beat music gave him an adrenaline rush, which strangely made him want to play basketball.

He glanced at Sakura who was swaying side to side with the beat, and she smiled up at him. Even in the dark she's beautiful. She dresses simply; tonight she wore jeans, leather boots, a t-shirt and a jacket, yet even the simplicity of her attire could not dull her shine. She still looked way better than the rest of the female population on the planet combined. She is the most beautiful in his eyes.

The band played songs from their new and old albums. Sakura sung along with them, pumping her fist in the air, bobbing her head with the beat and she would squeal occasionally when a band member would do something flamboyant. Kaede stood stiff, with his hands in his pockets, singing along quietly under his breath.

When the band played a very upbeat song that propelled the crowd up to their feet dancing, Sakura faced him, singing the song with exaggerated facial expressions, moving her shoulders with the beat. She looked adorable. He took a bold step closer to her and took in the fragrant smell of lavender, "I didn't know you dance." He whispered in her ear. She giggled and whispered back, "I don't. I probably look like a frog in a blender right now, but I can't help it. This is so awesome!"

She was not afraid to be goofy with him. He was so pleased to see her happy and having fun that he could not help but smile, sing along with her, and bob his head slightly as well. It's the first time he's ever shown anyone this side of him. He was glad she didn't think it weird and goofy. She just giggled and smiled fondly at him.

The concert ended around 10 pm. Sakura sang Uverworld songs the entire train ride back to Kanagawa and on the bike ride home. She stopped singing suddenly, and he felt her grip on his shirt tighten a bit, "Ne, Rukawa-kun, thanks for taking me to see Uverworld." She said softly. Kaede could not help but smile, he was quite proud of himself. He liked making her happy. Coolly, Kaede shrugged and responded, "Of course. You're my favorite girl."

It was a big hint to his real intentions. Inside, he kind of hoped that she would get it. He'd been wanting to tell her for a long time about what he truly felt, but words always failed him. Kaede has always been more of a doer than a talker; he embodies 'actions speak louder than words' and that is exactly what he's been doing: just showing her in his own ways just how much he cared for her and just how much he adored her. But their slow progress tested his patience and lately he'd only managed to verbally drop hints about his interests. He really hoped she'd catch on and maybe they could take another step in their relationship, but at the same time there was this gnawing fear of how she will react.

There was a short silence and then Sakura began singing again. She said nothing about his comment, almost as if she didn't hear it or she was pretending to have not heard it. Kaede felt a little bothered by it, but also a little relieved. He would not know what to say anyway if she chose to discuss it now. _Maybe another day. _

Her voice echoed around the empty streets. It made for a rather dreamy evening with the stars lighting the night sky and her compellingly haunting singing. Now that he could hear her better, he realized she had a beautiful voice—it was enthralling and cinematically wistful. It will perfectly match what he's about to give her next.

"I need to pick up something for a sec." He turned the corner toward his apartment. Sakura mustered an "uhuh" and kept singing. They got to his apartment and while she played with Sancho and told the cat stories about the concert, he went to retrieve his present.

The shock on Sakura's face when he presented his gift to her was priceless. With a solid cedar top, and warm mellow sounds, it was the perfect guitar for beginners—or so he's researched.

Sakura's jaw hung open, her eyes glued to the musical instrument that lay on his coffee table, "Please tell me you didn't get this for me."

Kaede smirked, amused at her reaction, "Of course it's for you." But Sakura didn't smile, she just looked worried, "Rukawa-kun, this is too much. I got you chocolates, for crying out loud."

"So? Didn't you say you wanted to learn?"

Sakura frowned, "I do. But you don't have to reciprocate like this. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for the thought. But it's still too much for a White Day gift."

Kaede bowed his head and thought about it for a bit, _was it really too much? _How would he know what's too much? This is the first time he's ever celebrated White Day! He didn't even really think of the cost when he planned his gift. He just wanted to dote on her, to see her happy.

"Who says it's for White Day? I got you this for Pi Day! Happy Pi Day!"

Pi Day had no traditions, no rules about how to celebrate it. She can't argue with him on this. She made up her own holiday, he made up his own rules and traditions about it—and if that means extravagant gifts, then so be it. Anything that will make her accept what he's been wanting to give her for a long time.

A smile slowly manifested on Sakura's face, "Clever son of a gun." Kaede shot her a smug grin in victory. He thought he saw a faint blush on her face as she slowly approached the coffee table.

"So, it's really mine?" She whispered, still pink in the face. Kaede offered a smile in return. She took the guitar in her hands and strummed the strings. The sound scared Sancho away, it made them both laugh. She turned to him and with the gentlest of smiles, she whispered, "Thank you, Rukawa-kun."

He felt his heart soar. But in response he tried to act cool and just shrugged and took a seat next to her as she practiced with the few chords she knows, which apparently, a guy named Kyo taught her. Kaede ignored the jealousy he felt to calmly watch her like this. She ended up staying for another hour before he finally took her home. When he dropped her off, he thought he saw her motion for a hug, but then pulled back. She instead squeezed his arm and reiterated her thanks for the tenth time. Kaede went home extremely happy and satisfied, although he would have liked that hug.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Unbeknownst to the two, Keijiro came by the Ishihara home earlier that night. Ichiro answered the door when the doorbell rang, "Yes?"

"Hi, I've come to see Sakura-chan."

"Nee-san's not here right now. She went out to go see Uverworld with her boyfriend."

Keijiro raised his brow, startled at the information, "Boyfriend?"

"Yes. Rukawa-senpai. You know, tall guy, good at basketball?"

Keijiro frowned, "I know who he is." This is certainly news to him. He waved a good night to Ichiro and left, texting Chisa and their other friends, asking whether or not they knew Sakura and Kaede were dating.


End file.
